PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 
ESSEX  BOOK  AND  PRINT  CLUB 

NO.  II 
WHITTIER   CORRESPONDENCE 


WHITTIER 
CORRESPONDENCE 

jfltora  t^e  €>a&  fcnoll  Collections 
1830-1892 


EDITED  BY 

JOHN  ALBREE 


SALEM,  MASSACHUSETTS 

ESSEX  BOOK  AND  PRINT  CLUB 

1911 


COPYRIGHT,    1911,   BY  THE  ESSEX   BOOK  AND   PRINT   CLUB 


TO    THE    DAUGHTERS    OF 

COLONEL    EDMUND    JOHNSON    OF    OAK    KNOLL 
MISS    CAROLINE    CARTLAND   JOHNSON 

AND 
MRS.  ABBY  JOHNSON   WOODMAN 

IN    WHOSE    HOME    WHITTIER, 
WHEN    THREE-SCORE    AND    TEN, 

SOUGHT    AND    FOUND 

CARE,    CONSIDERATION,    COMFORT, 

UNTIL 

"THE  GREAT  SILENCE  AT  LAST  FELL  ON  HIM.' 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION         .......       i 

• 
WHITTIER  CORRESPONDENCE 

To  his  Mother,  1830  .          .  .          .  •     33 

To  his  sister  Elizabeth,  1835     ....  36 

From  Caleb  Gushing,  1835  .          .  .          .  -38 

From  Stephen  C.  Phillips,  1835  .          .          .  41 

To  his  sister  Elizabeth,  1837         .  .          .  .46 

To  his  sister  Elizabeth,  1837     .  .          .          .  50 

To  his  sister  Mary  Caldwell,  1837  .          .  .52 

From  his  sister  Elizabeth,  1837  ...  54 

From  his  brother  Franklin,  1838   .  .          .  .     56 

To  his  sister  Elizabeth,  1838     ....  58 

To  his  Family,  1839     .          .          .  .          .  .60 

To  his  Mother,  1839        .....  62 

To  his  sister  Mary  Caldwell,  1839  .          .  -63 

From  Elizur  Wright,  Jr.,  1840  ...  65 

To  his  sister  Elizabeth,  1840         .  .          .  67 

From  Joseph  Sturge,  1841          .  .          .          .  69 

From  Caleb  Gushing,  1841  .          .  .          .  .     72 

From  his  brother  Franklin,  1841  .          .          .  74 

From  Caleb  Gushing,  1841  .          .  .          .  -7° 

Liberty  Party  Petition,  1841  .          .          .  79 

From  Caleb  Gushing,  1841  .         .  .         .  .81 

From  his  brother  Franklin,  1842  ...  82 

From  James  Russell  Lowell,  1842  .          .  .84 


C  viii  ] 

From  Henry  B.  Stanton,  1844  .         .  .         .         86 

From  his  brother  Franklin,  1844   .  .          .          .88 

From  Henry  B.  Stanton,  1844  .          .  .          .          91 

From  Charles  A.  Dana,  1845         .  .         .          .     94 
From  Charles  Sumner,  1848      ....         96 

To  Charles  Sumner,  1848     .          .  .          .          .     97 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1848       .          .  .          .        101 

From  Henry  B.  Stanton,  1848        .  .          .          .102 

From  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  1848         .        105 
From  Lewis  Tappan,  1848  .....   108 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1848      .          .  .          .        111 

To  «  The  Bay  State,"  Lynn,  1850  .          .          .113 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1850      .          .  .          .        115 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1851           .  .          .          .   117 

From  Edwin  P.  Hill,  1853         •         •  •          .119 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1853           •  •          •          .121 

From  Cornelius  Conway  Felton,  1855  .          .        123 

To  his  Amesbury  Neighbors,  1856  .          .          .126 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1856      .          .  .         .        128 

From  James  Russell  Lowell,  1857  •          •          •   I3° 

From  James  Russell  Lowell,  1858     .  .          .        131 

From  Lewis  Tappan,  1859  •          *  •          .          .    133 

From  Salmon  P.  Chase,  1860    ;          .  v         •        136 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1861           .  .   f      ,          .140 

From  Thomas  Starr  King,  1862          .  »          .        142 

From  Lydia  Maria  Child,  1864      .  .      %  .         .   146 

From  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  1864        .        150 

From  Dorothea  L.  Dix,  1865        .  .         .         .152 

From  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  1865  »        >       154 

From  Colonel  Julian  Allen,  1866  .  *        V        .156 


[ix] 

From  Lucy  Stone,  1867     •?  . ••"'<      *;;        .      •  ';..'••  .   159 

From  Celia  Thaxter,  1867      ^.<*      .•        .          .  161 

From  Jessie  Benton  Fremont,  1868         .          .  .166 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1868      ....  169 

From  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  1869      .          .  .171 

To (a  Quaker),  1870        .         .          .  173 

From  Paul  H.  Hayne,  1870           .-         .          .  .   175 

From  Paul  H.  Hayne,  1870       .          .          .          .  178 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1872           .          .          .  .180 

From  Charles  Sumner,  1872       .          .          .          .  181 

From  Celia  Thaxter,  1873 l83 

From  Paul  H.  Hayne,  1874      .          .          .          .  187 

From  Henry  W.  Longfellow,  1874          .          .  .    190 

From  Fellow  Townsmen  of  Amesbury,  1877       •  I9I 

From  Charles  C.  Burleigh,  1877    .          .          .  .    194 

From  Paul  H.  Hayne,  1878       .          .          .          .  199 
From  Paul  H.  Hayne,  1878           ....   202 

To (as  to  printing  poems),  1878         .          .  206 

From  Lydia  Maria  Child,  1878      ....   207 

From  Lydia  Maria  Child,  1879           .          .          .  209 

To  Horace  H.  Currier,  1879          .          .          .  .212 

From  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  1879           .          .  214 

From  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman,  1879          ...  .216 

To  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  1880    .          .          .          .  218 

From  Paul  H.  Hayne,  1880           .          .          .  .219 

From  Edwin  P.  Whipple,  1881           .          .          .  224 

To ,  1881    .          .         .         .         ...        .  .226 

From  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  1882           .          .  228 

To  Charles  P.  Preston,  1883          .          .          .  .   230 

From  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  1883  .          .          .  232 


From  William  Claflin,  1884       .;,..     <&*£   -,*..;      .  234 

From  Thomas  Chase,  1884       .         .      T«ai  ..-      237 
From  Amelia  B.  Edwards,  1885    .         -.  •     :  .  .<      .   239 

From  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  1885            •  •        241 

To  "The  Boston  Transcript,"  1885      .         .  .243 

From  James  Russell  Lowell,  1886     .         *  .        245 

From  Charles  C.  Chase,  1887        .         .         .  .  247 

From  George  F.  Hoar,  1888     .,-,      ».     :v  •  ;  *       249 

From  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  1888      .          .:  .   250 

From  Isaac  R.  Pennypacker,  1890      .          .  .        252 

From  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman,  1890           .  .   255 

To  Miss  Phebe  Woodman,  1892        .          .  ».        257 

To  Miss  Caroline  C.  Johnson,  1892      .        •.  .   259 

APPENDICES 

A      Whittier' s  "Editorial  Creed,"  1830          .  .263 

B       The  Grimke  Sisters  at  Amesbury         .  .        265 

C       Some  Anti-Slavery  Workers            .         V  .268 

D      H.C.Wright.          .'         .       T      ".-';  .       270 

E      The  Origin  of  Whittier's  111  Health         .  .272 

F       Whittier  to  Elizur  Wright,  Jr.,  1840  .  .'  '  •    274 

G      John  Neal   .         .         .         .         .         .  .276 

H      Whittier  to  Sumner,  1848            .          .  .        278 

I        Whittier  to  Sumner,  1853      • ''•       •          •  •   279 

J        Whittier  to  Sumner,  1856           .          .  .        280 

K      Whittier  to  Sumner,  1872               .         .  .   282 

L       Thomas  Chase           .          .          .          .  .        284 

M     Harriet  Livermore         .         .         .         ,  .286 

N       Whittier  to ,1867    V        V         .  v       289 

INDEX    .         ,         ,       ;  ..        .          .      v  V  '.    •  .   291 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

WHITTIER.    From  Daguerreotype,  1844—5      •      Frontispiece 
OAK  KNOLL,  DANVERS    ......       4 

ELIZABETH  H.  WHITTIER    .....         46 

WHITTIER'S  MOTHER      .         .         .         .         .         .60 

JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL,  1842       ....         84 

S.  P.  CHASE 136 

O.  W.  HOLMES  .         .         „         .         .         .         .154 

CHARLES  SUMNER    .         „         .         «         .         .         .170 
CELIA  THAXTER          .         0         .         .         .         .184 

LYDIA  MARIA  CHILD       ......  208 

E.  C.  STEDMAN  ....  216 


INTRODUCTION 


THESE  letters  cover  sixty-two  years  of  the 
life  of  a  man  to  whom  Essex  County  owes  a 
debt,  for  Whittier  has  thrown  over  this  re 
gion  a  charm  that  has  made  it  one  of  the  world's  ideal 
spots.  And  he  has  sung  of  its  beauty  so  effectively 
that  the  pilgrim,  who  does  not  see  what  Whittier  saw, 
will  rest  content  that  the  failure  is  due  to  his  own  lack 
of  perception.  But  yet,  beautiful  though  the  country 
seems  in  the  verse,  the  people  of  the  poems  rest  under 
a  shadow,  for  there  it  appears  that  they  persecute  their 
neighbors  as  Quakers,  hang  them  as  witches,  and  sail 
away  from  them  as  they  drown. 

However,  it  is  not  because  Whittier  is  so  closely 
associated  with  Essex  County  that  the  correspondence 
here  printed  is  of  value.  It  is  rather  that  through 
these  letters  we  can  learn  of  Whittier  himself,  whose 
memory  is  cherished  as  the  poet  of  home  and  child 
hood,  of  sympathy  for  the  burdened  and  the  oppressed, 
of  encouragement  for  the  down-hearted,  of  suggestion 
for  the  enthusiast,  of  inspiration  for  men  of  affairs. 
And  though  he  practically  retired  from  this  work-a- 
day  world  at  the  age  of  thirty-three,  an  invalid,  here 
are  letters  that  show  him  to  have  been  among  his 
cotemporaries  a  power  as  an  editor,  a  politician,  and  an 
anti-slavery  worker. 

And  these  letters  were  preserved  by  Whittier  him 
self.  Shortly  after  his  removal  to  Danvers  in  1876 
because  of  changes  in  the  Amesbury  household,  he 
spent  a  day  at  his  former  home  and  returned  to  Oak 


[4] 

Knoll  with  a  mass  of  papers,  saying,  with  a  smile 
at  the  bulk  of  the  package,  that  one  could  not  tell 
about  the  future,  and  so  he  thought  he  would  have 
these  near  him.  It  is  from  this  collection,  which  Whittier 
himself  made,  that  the  letters  here  printed  were  selected 
for  preservation,  through  the  kind  permission  and 
cooperation  of  Mrs.  Woodman  and  Miss  Johnson. 
Once,  when  asked  where  he  lived,  he  replied :  "  I 
retain  my  legal  residence  in  Amesbury  and  I  go  there 
to  vote,  but  my  home  is  at  Oak  Knoll."  And  it  was 
his  home  until  his  death  in  1892,  as  pleasing  refer 
ences  to  it  in  these  letters  show.  Great  is  the  contrast 
between  the  modest  house  on  the  village  street  in 
Amesbury  that  had  been  his  home  for  forty  years, 
and  the  stately  mansion  at  Oak  Knoll,  set  back  from 
the  travelled  road  among  grand  trees  and  spacious 
surroundings.  Here  he  could  entertain  his  old  friends, 
and  he  could  also  receive  in  fitting  manner  the  host 
of  "  pilgrims,"  as  he  called  them,  who  came  from  far 
and  wide,  and  it  may  be  added,  it  is  still  a  shrine, 
though  almost  a  score  of  years  has  passed  since  he 
left  it  forever. 

Among  the  earlier  letters  are  a  number  exchanged 
between  Whittier  and  his  family,  the  characters  im 
mortalized  in  "Snow-Bound."  Personal  and  familiar 
in  their  tone,  they  contain  allusions  which  must  be 
analyzed,  for  under  that  roof  and  around  that  hearth 
were  the  influences  that  shaped  Whittier,  the  man  of 
power. 

The  first  letter,  that  from  Hartford  in  1830  to  his 
mother,  was  written  when  Whittier,  a  young  man  of 
twenty-two,  was  away  from  home  and  among  strangers. 
He  had  already  had  some  hard  and  discouraging  ex- 


[5] 

perience  in  newspaper  work  in  Boston,  but  now  in  the 
home  of  that  renowned  coterie,  the  Hartford  Wits, 
he  was  to  succeed  the  brilliant  George  D.  Prentice, 
as  editor  of  the  "  New  England  Review,"  a  weekly 
paper,  at  a  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  a  year.1 
Whittier  through  his  contributions  to  that  paper, 
had  made  a  pleasing  impression  on  Prentice,  so  that 
when  Prentice  went  to  Kentucky  to  aid  in  the  cam 
paign  of  Clay  for  the  Presidency,  the  young  Haverhill 
Quaker  was  the  one  chosen  to  be  the  editor.  With 
such  an  introduction  Whittier's  place  in  the  social 
circles  of  the  "little  city,"  as  he  later  called  it,  was 
established,  and,  for  the  first  time,  he  was  enjoying  the 
stimulus  of  urban  life.  He  was  finding  Hartford  to 
be  "  a  pleasant  city  and  full  of  clever  people.'*  Fifty- 
five  years  afterwards  he  looked  back,  and  again  wrote, 
"  I  was  there  two  years  and  had  a  pleasant  time." 2 

In  1832  he  returned  to  Haverhill  where,  through 
the  death  of  his  father,  he  had  to  take  up  the  "  daily 
duties  of  a  large  farm."  But  his  two  years  in  the  world 
had  broadened  his  outlook  and  stirred  his  ambition. 
Already  the  cause  of  the  slave  had  appealed  to  him, 
and  just  before  his  return  to  farm  life,  he  published 
his  poem  to  Garrison,  now  placed  at  the  beginning  of 
his  anti-slavery  verse,  every  line  of  which  rings  with 
the  exultant  enthusiasm  of  one  who  knows  the  perils, 
and  is  thrilled  at  the  sight  of  the  leader. 

It  maybe  that  it  was  a  letter3  from  this  leader, 

1  See  Appendix  A,  p.  263. 

2  Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County ,  Conn.,  i,  614  (1886). 

3  This  letter,  printed  in  full  in  Carpenter,  Whittier ;  1 1 7,  was  in  the 
package  Whittier  brought  to  Oak  Knoll,  where  it  is  in  the  possession 
of  his  cousins,  Mrs.  Woodman  and  Miss  Johnson. 


[6] 

Garrison,  that  decided  Whittier  to  identify  himself 
with  the  "mighty  purpose"  of  that 

"  Champion  of  those  who  groan  beneath 
Oppression's  iron  hand."  ' 

Or  it  may  be  that  Whittier  had  reached  that  point  in 
his  own  thought  where  such  a  letter  would  lead  to  a 
decision.  In  this  letter  Garrison,  after  depicting  the 
curse  of  slavery,  concluded  :  — "  This,  then,  is  a  time 
for  the  philanthropist,  any  friend  of  his  country,  to 
put  forth  his  energies,  in  order  to  let  the  oppressed 
go  free,  and  sustain  the  republic.  The  cause  is  worthy 
of  Gabriel,  yea,  the  God  of  hosts  places  himself  at  its 
head.  Whittier,  enlist.  Your  talents,  zeal,  influence, 
all  are  needed." 

Three  months  later,  June,  1833,  Whittier  at  his 
own  expense  printed  his  pamphlet, "  Justice  and  Ex 
pediency  ;  or  Slavery  considered  with  a  View  to  its 
Rightful  and  Effectual  Remedy,  Abolition."  2  The  im 
mediate  interest  this  pamphlet  has  in  connection  with 
these  letters  lies  in  the  statement  of  the  end  to  be 
sought  and  the  manner  of  attainment.  In  it  he  re 
cognizes  the  power  of  "the  terrible  and  unrebukable 
indignation  of  a  free  people,"  which  must  be  aroused 
and  concentrated  against  the  forces  of  slavery.  He 
knows  that  public  opinion,  when  fully  awakened,  can 
overcome  all  the  obstacles  to  abolition,  however  great. 
And  this  mighty  force  is  to  be  brought  to  act,  "  not 
with  the  weapons  of  violence  and  blood,  but  with  those 
of  reason  and  truth,  prayer  to  God  and  entreaty  to 
man,"  and  these  letters  show  that  Whittier's  lifelong 
course  was  but  a  working  out  of  this  policy. 

1  <«  To  William  Lloyd  Garrison,"  Poems,  262,  Cambridge  Edition, 

2  Prose  Works,  iii,  34. 


[7] 

It  may  not  seem  fitting  to  style  Whittier  an  agita 
tor,  but  such  indeed  he  was,  and  in  his  comment  on 
W.  E.  Channing's  "Slavery"  (quoted  note  i,  page 
44)  he  expressed  strong  approval  of  agitation.  There 
is,  however,  a  difference  in  agitators  and  a  diversity 
in  their  methods.  With  Garrison,  the  personality  of 
the  man  himself  so  entered  the  cause  of  the  slave  that 
it  became  in  the  minds  of  the  public  his  own  cause,  and 
he,  its  especial  advocate.  But  with  Whittier,  as  is  seen 
in  these  letters,  there  was  not  the  arousing  of  impulse 
and  feeling,  but  rather  the  appeal  to  "  reason  and 
truth,"  as  he  declared  in  his  "  Justice  and  Expediency," 
and  it  required  skilful  and  adroit  handling  of  men, 
first  to  enlist  them  in  the  tedious  and  difficult  strug 
gles  incident  to  a  third  party  in  politics,  and  then  to 
hold  their  allegiance  year  after  year. 

Whittier  must  have  known  what  it  was  to  support 
an  unpopular  cause,  though  pure  the  motives  and 
high  the  aim.  The  caution  after  the  allusion  to  "  gin- 
sling  and  brandy  "  in  the  first  letter,  is  a  reference  to 
the  temperance  principles  of  his  friend  and  patron,  A. 
W.  Thayer,  the  publisher  of  the  "  Haverhill  Gazette," 
which  was  "  the  first  political  paper  and  the  second  paper 
of  any  kind"  to  advocate  total  abstinence  from  liquor.1 
So  earnest  and  effective  was  Thayer's  course  that,  in 
a  short  time,  he  lost  four  hundred  subscribers,  a  loss 
almost  calamitous  to  a  paper  of  its  limited  circulation. 

But  in  reading  these  letters  there  is  one  factor  that 
must  not,  indeed  it  cannot,  be  overlooked,  the  "  plain 
coat"  of  the  Quaker.  The  extent  of  its  influence  and 
power  can  best  be  determined  after  some  conception 
is  formed  of  what  it  stood  for  in  Essex  County  two 
1  Chase,  Haverbill  ( 1 86 1 ) ,  654. 


[8] 

centuries  ago,  for  to  the  traditions  associated  with  this 
plain  coat  its  wearers  succeeded.  This  appears  in 
Franklin  Whittier's  letter  (page  89)  where  he  and 
Nathan  wore  their  hats  in  a  meeting,  "  as  a  testimony." 
Though  the  style  of  this  coat  was  that  worn  by  quietly 
dressed  people  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  fact 
that  the  Quakers  clung  to  it  through  changing  fash 
ions,  shows  that  it  stood  for  something  definite  in 
their  minds,  and  the  "world's  people"  naturally  made 
inquiry  as  to  what  it  meant,  if  indeed  they  were  not 
already  informed  by  some  of  the  ranting  Quakers. 

The  coat  signified  that  its  wearer  was  "  bearing  wit 
ness,"  which  is  a  euphemism  for  making  a  protest, 
a  protest  against  show,  ornament,  and  amusement, 
against  rites  and  ceremonies  in  the  churches,  against 
class  distinctions  in  social  life,  in  brief,  a  broad  pro 
test  against  what  had  become  generally  recognized  as 
the  graces,  the  courtesies,  and  the  conventionalities  of 
active  life.  Through  the  donning  of  this  peculiar  coat 
its  wearer  was  promptly  identified  as  one  who  was,  in 
effect,  silently  charging  those  he  met  with  insincerity 
and  moral  weakness.  Such  a  protest  against  those 
things  which  are  at  the  basis  of  social  life,  was  a  hin 
drance  in  the  intercourse  of  man  and  man.  It  would 
excite  either  respect,  pity,  ridicule,  or  resentment,  and 
which  it  might  be,  had  to  be  determined  before  mu 
tual  confidence,  needful  to  the  establishment  of  satis 
factory  relations,  could  exist.  Furthermore,  such  a  coat 
with  its  burden  of  reproof  must  dominate  the  wearer, 
or  else  the  man  himself  must  have  sufficient  strength 
of  character  to  rise  above  its  influence. 

To  understand  how  these  traditions  became  estab 
lished  and  how  deeply  they  were  rooted,  some  atten- 


[9] 

tion  must  be  given  to  the  current  thought  when  the 
Quakers  came  into  the  region  associated  with  the  events 
of  Whittier's  poems.  The  civil  government  of  the  Bay 
Colony  was  based  on  the  Bible,  especially  the  laws  of 
Moses  and  the  Pauline  Epistles,  literally  interpreted. 
While  it  was  in  contemplation  that  there  should  be 
no  appeal  from  the  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  it  was 
recognized  by  the  General  Court  that  there  might  be 
difficulty  in  applying  the  ancient  law  to  modern  in 
stances.  But  still  their  thought  was  that  the  Book  was 
the  supreme  standard  and  rule.1 

As  a  consequence  the  character  of  the  prevailing 
thought  was  fixed  by  the  meeting  house,  the  centre  of 
the  life  of  the  community.  But  here  again  existed  a 
rigidity  difficult  to  comprehend  in  these  days,  for  both 
the  pulpit  and  the  pew  tried  to  conform  and  to  hold 
others  to 

"  the  points  of  Calvin's  thunder-rod," 

as  Whittier  calls  them  (Poems,  74),  which  must  be  kept 
in  mind  in  a  study  of  that  time.  These  Five  Points, 

1  The  Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  Thomas  Dudley,  John 
Haynes,  Richard  Bellingham,  Esq.,  Mr.  Cotton,  Mr.  Peters  and  Mr. 
Shepheard  are  entreated  to  make  a  draught  of  laws  agreeable  to  the 
Word  of  God,  which  may  be  the  fundamentals  of  this  Commonwealth, 
and  to  present  the  same  to  the  next  General  Court.  And  it  is  ordered, 
that  in  the  mean  time  the  magistrates  and  their  associates  shall  proceed 
in  the  courts  to  hear  and  determine  all  causes  according  to  the  laws 
now  established,  and  where  there  is  no  law,  then  as  near  the  law  of 
God  as  they  can  ;  and  for  all  business  out  of  Court  for  which  there  is  no 
certain  rule  yet  set  down,  those  of  the  standing  counsel,  or  some  two  of 
them,  shall  take  order  by  their  best  discretion,  that  they  may  be  ordered 
and  ended  according  to  the  rule  of  God's  word,  and  to  take  care  for 
all  military  affairs  till  the  next  General  Court. 

Mass.  Say  Colony  Records,  i,  174. 


which  have  so  far  passed  from  the  thought  of  the  pre 
sent  day  that  it  is  a  mark  of  rare  erudition  for  one  to 
recite  them,  are  particular  election,  limited  atonement, 
original  sin,  irresistible  grace,  final  perseverance  of  the 
saints.  Fortunately  there  is  no  occasion  to  discuss  in 
this  connection  how,  even  then,  these  points  were  con 
troverted.1 

Into  the  community  pervaded  by  this  inelastic  and 
unyielding  school  of  thought,  there  came  the  Quaker 
with  his  new  doctrine,  that  there  was  in  each  man  the 
"  Light  Within,"  a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
serving  as  a  guide  whose  voice  of  direction  or  prompt 
ing  must  be  obeyed.  Furthermore,  he  taught  that, 
because  the  Spirit  is  in  every  man,  all  men  are  equal. 
That  is,  they  preached  the  brotherhood  of  man,  a  log 
ical  deduction  from  their  position  as  to  the  equality  of 
man.  Clearly,  therefore,  the  Quaker  must  oppose  both 
war  and  slavery.  But  because  the  first  of  these  pro 
positions,  that  as  to  the  Inward  Guide,  could  not  be 
deduced  from  the  phrases  of  the  Five  Points,  its  sup 
porters  were  unhesitatingly  disapproved.  The  second, 
the  equality  of  man,  likewise  subjected  them  to  dis 
favor,  because,  if  put  into  practice,  it  would  destroy 
the  social  order  and  the  civil  government.  But,  with 
the  experience  of  two  centuries  and  more  behind 
us,  we  now  can  see  that,  formulating  the  controversy 
briefly  in  terms  of  to-day,  the  Puritan  sought  direc 
tion  through  the  Book,  while  the  Quaker  relied  on 
the  "Light  Within."  Or,  practically,  the  Puritan 
taught  that  man  should  search  for  God,  while  the 
Quaker  proclaimed  that  God  was  searching  for  man. 

1  Schaff,  Creeds  of  Christendom,  i,  508.  "The  Arminian  Con 
troversy  and  the  Synod  of  Dort." 


The  Quaker  of  that  time  could  not  express  his 
thought  with  Whittier's  felicity,  and  even  if  he  had  been 
able,  the  Puritan  could  not  have  understood  it.  In 
"  Lines  in  Remembrance  of  Joseph  Sturge,"  the  Eng 
lish  Quaker  whose  important  letter  to  Whittier  is  here 
printed  (page  69),  there  is  an  illustration  of  how  charm 
ingly  the  poet  could  express  a  Quaker  tenet,  that  of 
the  Spirit  being  in  every  man  :  — 

"  Thanks  for  the  good  man's  beautiful  example, 

Who  in  the  vilest  saw 
Some  sacred  crypt  or  altar  of  a  temple 

Still  vocal  with  God's  law ; 
And  heard  with  tender  ear  the  spirit  sighing 

As  from  its  prison  cell, 
Praying  for  pity,  like  the  mournful  crying 
Of  Jonah  out  of  hell." 

(Poems,  199.) 

But  because  the  Puritan  and  the  Quaker  did  not  and 
could  not  understand  each  other,  and  because  the  mat 
ter  in  controversy  was  deemed  by  each  to  be  so  vital, 
the  long,  painful,  and  distressing  experiences  followed, 
some  phases  of  which,  modified  by  the  exigencies 
of  rhyme  and  metre,  are  preserved  for  all  time  in 
Whittier's  verse. 

When,  after  some  years,  both  Puritan  and  Quaker 
found  that  they  could  live  side  by  side  and  do  busi 
ness  together,  there  was  still  left  the  spirit  of  protest, 
strengthened  by  the  thought  or  remembrance  or  tra 
dition  of  the  experiences  of  the  earlier  years,  until  one 
now  queries  at  times  whether  the  protest  against  what 
had  happened  years  before  was  not  as  much  empha 
sized  as  the  affirmations  concerning  things  spiritual. 

Whittier  seemed  to  feel  the  need  of  a  statement  of 


[  I*] 

what  the  Quaker  stood  for,  when  peace  and  quiet  came, 
and  in  "The  Preacher,"  based  on  the  story  of  White- 
field  and  the  work  of  "  the  priests  of  the  New  Evan 
gel  "  at  the  time  of  the  Great  Revival  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  such  is  to  be  found.  The  community  was  then 
stirred  to  its  depths  and  its  thought  changed,  while 
the  "  self-concentred  "  Quaker,  at  least  in  the  poem, 
took  an  independent,  if  not  indifferent  attitude,  for 
then, 

"  With  zeal  wing-clipped  and  white-heat  cool, 
Moved  by  the  spirit  in  grooves  of  rule, 
No  longer  harried,  and  cropped,  and  fleeced, 
Flogged  by  sheriff  and  cursed  by  priest, 
But  by  wiser  counsels  left  at  ease 
To  settle  quietly  on  his  lees, 
And,  self-concentred,  to  count  as  done 
The  work  which  his  fathers  well  begun, 
In  silent  protest  of  letting  alone, 
The  Quaker  kept  the  way  of  his  own, — 
A  non-conductor  among  the  wires, 
With  coat  of  asbestos  proof  to  fires. 
And  quite  unable  to  mend  his  pace 
To  catch  the  falling  manna  of  grace, 
He  hugged  the  closer  his  little  store 
Of  faith,  and  silently  prayed  for  more. 
And  vague  of  creed  and  barren  of  rite, 
But  holding,  as  in  his  Master's  sight, 
Act  and  thought  to  the  inner  light, 
The  round  of  his  simple  duties  walked, 
And  strove  to  live  what  the  others  talked." 

("The  Preacher,"  Poems,  72.) 

Here  Whittier  contents  himself  with  a  recital  of  the 
facts,  and  leaves  to  others  to  show  the  influence  of 


[  13] 

the  Quakers  in  this  movement,  as  well  as  its  effect 
upon  them,  for  it  was  searching  and  lasting. 

But  what  is  there  left,  when  the  protest  and  the  oc 
casion  for  it  no  longer  exist?  How  does  the  Quaker 
in  "the  round  of  his  simple  duties"  meet  problems 
that  arise  for  solution  within  the  society,  organized  as 
are  others  in  the  community  for  the  same  great  end, 
the  good  of  humanity  ?  Now  the  manner  in  which 
an  organization  deals  with  difficulties  determines  its 
policy  and  its  character.  Whittier  in  his  communica 
tion  to  the  "  Friends  Review,"  mentioned  in  the  let 
ter  (page  173),  speaks  of  a  difficulty  and  suggests  to 
his  fellow  Friends  a  remedy  for  "the  low  condition  and 
worldliness  too  apparent  among  us,"  that  is,  among 
the  Friends  as  such,  not  the  "world's  people."  This, 
he  says,  "does  not  lie  in  will  worship,  schools  of  theo 
logy,  in  much  speaking  and  noise  and  vehemence, 
nor  in  vain  attempts  to  make  the  plain  language  of 
Quakerism  utter  the  Shibboleth  of  man-made  creeds; 
but  in  heeding  more  closely  the  Inward  Guide  and 
Teacher,  in  faith  in  Christ  not  merely  in  His  histor 
ical  manifestation  of  the  Divine  Love  to  humanity, 
but  in  His  living  presence  in  hearts  open  to  receive 
Him ;  in  love  for  Him  manifested  in  denial  of  self, 
in  charity  and  love  to  our  neighbor ;  and  in  a  deeper 
realization  of  the  truth  of  the  apostle's  declaration : 
*  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the 
Father  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in 
their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from 
the  world.' " 

If  it  were  claimed  that  this  is  a  statement  of  doctrine 
peculiar  to  Quakerism  and  characteristic  of  it,  there 
would  be  assertions  on  every  hand  that  such  a  declara- 


[  H] 

tion  is  broader  than  any  sect  and  deeper  than  any 
"  ism,"  in  brief,  that  it  is  a  basal  statement  of  Chris 
tianity  as  to-day  recognized.  Therefore,  when  the 
protest  is  relaxed  and  withdrawn  and  the  affirmation 
alone  remains,  Quakerism, 

u  vague  of  creed  and  barren  of  rite," 

has  little  to  differentiate  it  from  what  its  neighbors 
generally  profess  and  affirm,  and  then  Quakerism  as 
a  special  form  of  religious  organization  ceases  to  be. 

The  protest  has  been  withdrawn  and  the  Quaker 
coat  has  disappeared  from  Essex  County.  Further 
more,  even  among  the  descendants  of  its  wearers,  an 
inquiry  as  to  what  were  the  distinctive  teachings  of 
the  Quakers  will  yield  replies  having  to  do  with  the 
apparel  or  customs  only. 

In  Whittier's  "The  Quaker  Alumni "  (Poems, 
220),  he  records  his  prophecy:  — 

"  There  are  those    that   take  note    that    our  numbers  are 

small, — 

New  Gibbons  who  write  our  decline  and  our  fall ; 
But  the  Lord  of  the  seed-field  takes  care  of  His  own, 
And  the  world  shall  yet  reap  what  our  sowers  have  sown. 
The  last  of  his  sect  to  his  fathers  may  go, 
Leaving  only  his  coat  for  some  Barnum  to  show  ; 
But  the  truth  will  outlive  him,  and  broaden  with  years, 
Till  the  false  dies  away,  and  the  wrong  disappears." 

These  broad,  sweeping  statements  of  the  ultimate  tri 
umph  of  the  truth  for  which  the  coat  stands,  coupled 
with  admissions  of  decline  and  fall,  prompt  the  inquiry 
what  Whittier  saw  in  the  conditions  and  prospects  of 
the  Society  of  Friends  to  indicate  the  fading  away  of 
its  supporters. 


Whittier  appreciated  this.  The  man  whose  verse 
moves  men  ;  who  boldly  and  unflinchingly  undertook 
to  free  the  slave ;  whose  counsel  and  judgment  these 
letters  show  was  sought  by  leaders  of  men  ;  he  knew 
the  rules  which  govern  mankind.  He  knew  from 
experience  that  a  protest  can  serve  as  a  rallying  cry 
among  men  only  so  long  as  that  against  which  it  is 
raised  is  stronger.  When  the  protest  itself  gains  the 
mastery,  it  must  stand  for  affirmative,  constructive 
work,  or  its  adherents  divide  and  scatter. 

In  him  the  appreciation  of  constructive  work  was 
greater  than  the  sense  of  protest.  The  man  dominated 
the  coat.  Lowell  recognized  this  and  wrote  of  him  in 
1848: — 

"  There  is  Whittier,  whose  swelling  and  vehement  heart 
Strains  the  strait-breasted  drab  of  the  Quaker  apart, 
And  reveals  the  live  Man,  still  supreme  and  erect, 
Underneath  the  bemummying  wrappers  of  sect." 

(Lowell,  "A  Fable  for  Critics,"  Poems,  132.) 

If  a  search  is  made  in  Whittier's  verse  for  what  will 
define  the  tenets  of  the  Quakers,  so  that  they  can  be 
distinguished  from  those  of  other  societies  that  call  for 
activities  and  service,  the  result  will  be  indefinite, 
because,  though  Whittier  may  have  thought  he  was 
giving  expression  to  teachings  peculiar  to  his  ancestral 
sect,  he  actually  was  putting  into  verse  truths  to  which 
the  response  is  world  wide.  His  poems  that  deal 
with  the  better  and  the  higher  nature  of  man,  are  the 
expression  of  truth  as  it  came  through  his  personality 
and  they  bear  his  lasting  impress.  Therefore  the  value 
of  these  letters  is  manifest,  for  they  reveal  the  Whittier 
of  real  life  among  his  friends  and  in  the  world  of  men. 


But  nevertheless  the  Quaker  atmosphere  of  protest 
and  of  brotherly  love  as  well,  in  which  Whittier  was 
born  and  grew  to  manhood,  had  its  effect,  which  must 
be  remembered  in  a  study  of  these  letters,  for  in  such 
an  environment  his  sympathies,  naturally  keen  and 
strong,  were  especially  quickened  on  behalf  of  any  who 
were  down-trodden  and  oppressed.  This  works  out 
curiously  in  his  verse,  as  may  be  seen  in  two  poems, 
each  having  as  its  subject  a  similar  incident,  the  sen 
sational  entrance  of  a  woman  into  a  meeting-house  at 
an  inopportune  time,  with  consequent  disturbance  of 
the  service. 

In  one  it  is  the  Quaker  for  whom  our  sympathies 
are  sought:  — 

"  She  came  and  stood  in  the  Old  South  Church, 

A  wonder  and  a  sign, 
With  a  look  the  old-time  sibyls  wore, 
Half  crazed  and  half  divine. 

"  Save  the  mournful  sack  cloth  about  her  wound, 

Unclothed  as  the  primal  mother, 
With  limbs  that  trembled  and  eyes  that  blazed 
With  a  fire  she  dare  not  smother."  * 

In  the  other  poem  it  is  the  young  slave  mother  of 
whose  sad  and  helpless  plight  we  read :  — 

"  Like  a  scared  fawn  before  the  hounds, 

Right  up  the  aisle  she  glided, 
While  close  behind  her,  whip  in  hand, 
A  lank-haired  hunter  strided.  .  .  . 

u  I  saw  her  dragged  along  the  aisle, 

Her  shackles  harshly  clanking; 

1  In  the  "  Old  South, "  Poems,  121. 


C  17] 

I  heard  the  parson,  over  all, 

The  Lord  devoutly  thanking."  ' 

Here  Whittier  is  righteously  angered  against  the  pre 
sent  evil  of  human  bondage,  and  against  all  who  do 
not  take  his  uncompromising  stand,  while  in  the  for 
mer,  through  the  woman  who  came  under  the  civil 
authority  because  the  people  of  that  day  were  as  keen 
as  we  to  resent  a  violation  of  the  proprieties,  he  seeks 
to  arouse  his  readers  to  an  active  sympathy  with  the 
participants  of  an  old  strife,  the  elements  of  which  are 
little  comprehended.  In  the  letters  he  does  not  take 
such  equivocal  positions,  for  he  patiently  and  deliber 
ately  calculates  each  step  in  a  plan,  while  in  the  poems 
there  is  the  storm  of  indignation  and  of  invective  and 
the  swift  leap  from  premise  to  conclusion. 

In  the  minds  of  Whittier's  readers  the  Quaker  and 
the  witch  seem  in  some  way  to  be  connected,  and  that 
one  was  a  cause  or  a  result  of  the  other,  for  they  are 
placed  together  so  frequently  in  the  verse.  Whittier's 
conception  of  the  conditions  that  existed  in  Salem  Vil 
lage,  now  Danvers,  where  the  delusion  began,  is  indi 
cated  in  the  lines  he  wrote  for  the  monument  erected 
in  memory  of  Rebecca  Nurse,  one  of  the  first  victims, 
at  her  grave  and  near  the  house  in  which  she  lived :  — 

"  O,  Christian  martyr  who  for  truth  could  die, 
When  all  about  thee  owned  the  hideous  lie ; 
The  world,  redeemed  from  superstition's  sway, 
Is  breathing  freer  for  thy  sake  to-day." 

Standing  near  this  is  another  monument  on  which  is 

carved  the  statement  with  the  names  of  the  thirty-nine 

signers,  all  friends  and  neighbors,  who  testify  concern- 

1  "A  Sabbath  Scene,"  Poems,  312. 


[18] 

ing  this  aged  object  of  the  delusion  that  "we  never  had 
any  grounds  or  cause  to  suspect  her  of  any  such  thing 
as  she  is  now  accused  of."  This  clearly  contradicts  the 
second  line  of  the  verse. 

Upham,  than  whom  none  has  made  a  closer  study, 
wrote:  "An  examination  of  [these  thirty-nine]  names 
in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  Village  will  show 
conclusive  proof,  that,  if  the  matter  had  been  left  to 
the  people  there,  it  would  never  have  reached  the 
point  to  which  it  was  carried.  It  was  the  influence  of 
the  magistracy  and  the  government  of  the  colony,  and 
the  public  sentiment  elsewhere,  overruling  that  of  the 
immediate  locality,  that  drove  on  the  storm."1 

The  Quaker  and  the  witch  will  ever  be  hanging  in 
Whittier's  poems  and  none  can  remove  them.  While 
through  the  labors  of  the  student,  each  decade  sees  a 
better  understanding  of  the  first  century  of  Massachu 
setts,  it  will  be  many  score  of  years  before  the  popu 
lar  mind  can  think  along  other  lines  and  in  different 
phrase  from  that  of  Whittier's  verse. 

But  will  his  portrayal  of  slavery  stand  the  test  of 
time  ?  Does  his  verse  reflect  his  experiences  as  a  leader 
in  that  magnificent  achievement  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury,  the  freeing  of  the  slave  ?  In  that  contest  it  seems 
that  to  the  inborn  spirit  of  protest  against  oppression 
there  was  added  the  force  of  his  own  "  terrible  and 
unrebukable  indignation,"  and  these  letters  show  how 
he  wrought  and  what  a  place  he  attained  in  the  esti 
mation  of  his  associates,  on  whom  with  him  rested  the 
great  responsibility.  They  recognized  not  only  his 
zeal,  but  his  discernment  and  his  discretion,  two  quali 
ties  especially  needed  at  a  time  when  fads  and  no- 
1  Upham,  Witchcraft  in  Salem  Pillage,  ii,  273. 


[  19] 

tions  abounded,  and  when  methods  of  arousing  and 
concentrating  public  attention  were  unskilful  and 
crude. 

Before  the  break  came  in  1840  between  the  aboli 
tionists  under  Garrison,  who  would  talk  but  would  not 
vote,  and  the  anti-slavery  men  who  planned  to  com 
bat  slavery  through  the  ballot-box,  there  was  action 
without  definite  plan.  There  were  those  who  were  in 
tent  on  abolition  alone,  and  there  were  others  who 
would  rally  to  the  support  of  any  notion  whose  adher 
ents  would  in  turn  support  abolition.  Not  only  were 
there  discussions  and  dissensions  about  the  coloniza 
tion  of  the  Negro  in  Africa,  and  whether  emancipation 
should  be  immediate  or  gradual,  but  there  were  divi 
sions  on  woman  suffrage,  Grahamism  or  vegetarianism, 
family  government,  temperance,  and  a  multitude  of 
other  schemes  and  theories  intended  to  ameliorate  and 
elevate  man's  condition,  but  which,  by  diverting  the 
attention,  hindered  the  progress  of  the  main  issue, 
the  slave  and  his  freedom. 

The  state  of  "  betweenity  "  of  Dr.  Harris,  so  felicit 
ously  described  by  Franklin  Whittier  (page  56),  re 
veals  the  mental  situation  with  which  the  anti-slavery 
men  had  to  contend  in  their  efforts  to  secure  single- 
minded  supporters.  Joseph  Sturge  had  heard  of  this  in 
England,  and  alludes  to  it  in  his  letter  asking  Whittier 
to  be  his  companion  on  the  journey  of  investigation 
in  this  country  (page  69). 

But  there  was  one  issue  on  which  all  could  unite 
for  action,  and  this  the  various  correspondents  con 
stantly  discuss,  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  for  it  was  a  grief  and  reproach  indeed 
that  slavery  should  exist  in  the  capital  of  the  nation. 


[ao] 

On  his  journey  with  Whittier,  Sturge  visited  Wash 
ington  in  1841,  and,  returning  to  England,  published 
abroad  this  sad  comment:  — 

"  The  District  of  Columbia  is  the  chief  seat  of  the 
American  slave  trade;  commercial  enterprise  there  has 
no  other  object.  Washington  is  one  of  the  best  sup 
plied  and  most  frequented  slave  marts  in  the  world." * 
Whittier's  "At  Washington"  (Poems,  295),  sug 
gested  by  a  visit  four  years  later,  expresses  the  same 
fact  in  verse :  — 

"  Still  the  dance  goes  gaily  onward ! 
What  is  it  to  Wealth  and  Pride 
That  without  the  stars  are  looking 

On  a  scene  that  earth  should  hide? 
That  the  slave-ship  lies  in  waiting, 
Rocking  on  Potomac's  tide." 

To  circulate  petitions  to  Congress  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  District  was  an  effective  means  of 
arousing  interest,  because  appeals  could  be  made,  even 
to  the  lukewarm  and  indifferent,  on  the  ground  that 
slavery  at  Washington  was  a  matter  personal  to  each 
citizen  of  the  United  States.  Both  Cushing  (page  38), 
and  Phillips  (page  41),  deal  with  this  subject  in  detail 
as  it  was  in  December,  1835,  anc^  show  the  difficulties 
attendant  on  the  presentation  of  the  petitions. 

How  keenly  Whittier  felt  on  this  subject  of  what 
was  practically  a  denial  of  the  right  of  petition,  may 
be  seen  in  his  lines  on  "  The  New  Year  "  (Poems,  281), 
addressed  to  the  subscribers  of  the  "  Pennsylvania 
Freeman,"  1839.  Atherton  of  New  Hampshire  had 
introduced  a  rule  which  the  House  had  passed,  that 
all  petitions  referring  to  slavery  should  be  received 
1  Sturge,  Visit  to  the  U.  S.  in  1841,  74. 


[ai] 

but  neither  read  nor  referred.  To  this  act  Whittier 
refers :  — 

"  And  he,  the  basest  of  the  base, 

The  vilest  of  the  vile,  whose  name 
Embalmed  in  infinite  disgrace, 
Is  deathless  in  its  shame  !  " 

And  yet,  in  spite  of  the  vast  amount  of  time  and  effort 
directed  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District,  it 
was  not  accomplished  until  1862,  and  then  as  a  result 
of  a  series  of  measures  passed  to  meet  conditions  due 
to  the  war.  As  Whittier  says  in  "  Astraea  at  the  Capi 
tol"  (Poems,  33  8)  :  — 

"  Not  as  we  hoped,  in  calm  of  prayer, 
The  message  of  deliverance  comes, 
But  heralded  by  roll  of  drums 
On  waves  of  battle-troubled  air." 

Except  the  obscure  reference  in  Elizabeth  Whittier's 
letter,  September,  1837  (page  54),  and  the  letter  of 
Whittier  (page  58),  accompanying  copies  of  his  poems, 
it  is  December,  1842,  before  there  is  a  letter  having 
to  do  directly  with  his  literary  work,  and  then  it  is  a 
request  from  Lowell  for  a  contribution  to  the  "Pio 
neer,"  a  monthly  magazine,  destined,  however,  to  be 
short-lived,  as  but  three  numbers  appeared. 

In  1847  Whittier  became  connected  with  the  "  Na 
tional  Era"  of  Washington,  a  paper  started  under 
anti-slavery  auspices  with  Dr.  Gamaliel  Bailey  as  edi 
tor,  which  attained  success  at  once.  It  was  in  this 
paper  that "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  "  appeared  as  a  serial. 
During  its  life  from  1 847  until  March,  1 860,  the  name 
of  John  G.  Whittier  as  corresponding  editor  was 
printed  in  bold  type  below  the  title  of  the  paper.  To 


[22] 

this  he  contributed  constantly,  both  in  prose  and  verse, 
so  that  through  this  means  his  name  became  widely 
known. 

The  letter  from  E.  P.  Hill  in  1853  (page  119) 
about  the  lithograph  of  the  old  Whittier  home  at 
East  Haverhill,  a  dozen  years  before  "  Snow-Bound  " 
appeared,  proves  that  there  was  then  a  demand  by 
the  public  for  something  about  Whittier's  personality. 
Fortunately,  in  this  connection,  the  letter  of  Whittier 
to  his  old  friend  Currier,  telling  about  a  visit  to  the 
house  forty  years  after  the  family  moved  to  Amesbury, 
can  be  here  preserved  (page  212). 

That  Charles  Sumner,  who  kept  all  letters  he  re 
ceived  so  that  they  fill  one  hundred  and  seventy  vol 
umes,  should  have  carefully  placed  those  from  Whit 
tier  by  themselves  in  a  special  volume,  indicates  his 
regard  for  his  friend.1  And  that  Whittier  should  have 
been  the  first  to  suggest  to  Sumner  that  he  serve  as 
Senator  from  Massachusetts,  shows  how  accurate  was 
Whittier's  estimate  of  the  man  and  of  his  capabilities 
as  a  leader  in  the  anti-slavery  cause.2 

1  The  Letter  Books  of  Sumner  contain  the  letters  received  by  him 
from    1830  until  his   death  in  1874.    These  were  used  by  E.   L. 
Pierce  in  the  preparation  of  his  Life  of  Sumner  and  after  his  death  they 
were  given  by  his  family  to  the  Library  of  Harvard   College.   The 
classification  is  for  the  greater  part  chronological,  121  volumes  being 
thus  arranged.    There  are  25  volumes  of"  foreign  "  letters.   The  cor 
respondents  whose  letters  are  kept  in  one  volume  each  are  Giddings, 
Longfellow,  Parker,  Prescott,  Whittier  and  J.  S.  Fay.    A  number  of 
volumes  contain  letters  from  a  few  specially  chosen  correspondents, 
with  whom  Sumner  had  much  to  do  at  times. 

2  In  a  letter  to  Elias  Nason,  dated  Amesbury,  8th  month,  1874, 
Whittier,  in  reference  to  Sumner 's  election,  said,  "  I  am  inclined  to 
believe   that  I    was  the  first  to  suggest  to  him,  in   the   summer  of 
1850,  the  possibility  of  his  election  to  the  Senate.    Rethought  it  im- 


Though  the  letters  here  included  are  but  a  few  of 
the  many  that  remain,  still  they  add  to  our  knowledge 
of  both  men.  The  correspondence  begins  at  the  period 
when  the  anti-slavery  men,  who  with  Whittier  believed 
that  the  emancipation  of  the  slave,  if  brought  about, 
must  come  through  political  action,  were  considering 
what  course  to  pursue  in  the  Presidential  election  of 
1848.  For  two  campaigns  they  had  gone  to  the  polls 
as  the  Liberty  party,  a  third  party,  but  the  results, 
while  encouraging,  did  not  seem  to  bring  any  nearer 
the  freedom  of  the  slave.  The  party  had  not  carried 
even  one  State,  though  by  their  influence  they  turned 
the  scale  in  New  York. 

By  1848  the  slave  power  had  grown  aggressive, 
if  not  defiant.  The  Missouri  Compromise,  the  An 
nexation  of  Texas  and  the  Mexican  War  had  become 
facts  and  convinced  these  ardent  workers  that,  in  spite 
of  their  efforts,  they  were  not  making  progress.  They 
determined  that  the  policy  of  compromise  and  of  pro 
crastination  must  cease,  and  that  something  must  be 
accomplished. 

The  Whigs  were  being  divided  into  two  factions, 
differentiated  by  the  epithets  of  Conscience  and  of 
Cotton.  It  needed  but  one  decisive  event  to  bring  to 
gether  the  aroused  masses,  and  that  event  proved  to 
be  the  nomination  of  a  slave-holder,  Zachary  Taylor, 

practicable,  and  stated  with  emphasis,  that  he  desired  no  office,  that  his 
plans  of  life  did  not  contemplate  anything  of  the  kind,  and  that  he 
greatly  doubted  his  natural  fitness  for  political  life.  He  made  no 
pledges  nor  explanations  of  any  kind  to  insure  his  election  when  it  took 
place." 

Elias  Nason,  Life  of  Charles  Sumner  (1874),  142. 
In  Whittier' s  poem  "To  Charles  Sumner"  (Poems,  196),  he  al 
ludes  to  this  "  large  future  shaped  "  for  Sumner. 


[*4l 

for  the  Presidency  in  1848,  and  this  nomination  the 
Cotton  Whigs  endorsed.  The  indignant  Conscience 
Whigs  were  stirred  to  action.  They  called  the  conven 
tion  at  Worcester,  which  led  Whittier  to  write  the 
letter  of  2jrd  6th  mo,  1848  (page  97).  Five  thou 
sand  attended,  and  the  meetings  had  to  be  held  in 
the  open  air.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  organized 
Free  Soil  party,  which  later  became  the  Republican 
party  of  Lincoln's  time.  There  are  a  number  of  let 
ters  that  discuss  the  very  complicated  political  situa 
tion  of  that  campaign  as  well  as  the  local  conditions 
later  in  Massachusetts,  when  the  Free  Soil  party  was 
throwing  its  influence  with  the  Democrats  as  against 
the  Whigs,  one  result  being  the  election  of  Sumner 
as  Senator  in  April,  1851. 

While  the  intense  devotion  of  Whittier  and  of  Sum 
ner  to  the  cause  of  emancipation  may  have  been,  in 
itself,  a  sufficient  ground  for  their  friendship,  still  it  may 
be  asked  whether  the  fact  that  in  their  domestic  and 
family  relations  there  was  a  parallel  may  not  also  have 
drawn  them  to  each  other,  and  furthermore  whether 
the  isolated  lives  of  these  two  who,  by  chance  or  choice, 
did  not  have  the  experiences  of  other  men  who  estab 
lished  homes  of  their  own,  with  the  joys  and  duties, 
may  not  have  been  an  additional  bond.  Each  had  the 
home  ties  of  his  childhood  and  youth  still  unbroken. 
The  mother  of  each  was  living,  active  and  strong,  and 
at  the  head  of  her  home.  Each  man  was  able  to  throw 
himself  with  great  zeal  into  the  cause  of  human  free 
dom,  a  zeal  that  might  perhaps  have  been  less  effect 
ive  under  other  home  conditions.  The  bitter  feeling 
aroused  against  those  who  enlisted  in  the  cause  of 
emancipation  was  well  known  to  each.  From  the  time 


of  the  publication  of  "Justice  and  Expediency"  in 
1833  Whittier  had  many  an  occasion  to  realize  that  he 
was  not  regarded  with  favor  by  a  large  part  of  the 
world,  while  the  social  ostracism  of  Sumner  by  those 
in  Boston  among  whom  he  had  lived  his  life,  is  a  matter 
of  history. 

The  close  and  confidential  relations  of  Whittier  and 
Sumner,  as  shown  in  these  letters,  covering  a  quarter 
of  a  century  of  intense  activity,  warrant  the  inclusion 
of  letters  closely  connected  with  the  manuscripts  at 
Oak  Knoll.  Some  of  them  have  been  printed,  but  com 
parison  shows  that  in  most  instances  some  striking  and 
pertinent  phrases  and  sentences  have  been  omitted.  As 
each  man  was  a  master  of  English  and  determined  to 
make  his  thought  known  to  the  other,  it  is  but  fair 
and  right  that  the  letters  appear  in  full. 

The  latest  letters  between  Sumner  and  Whittier 
were  written  in  times  of  storm  and  stress.  The  work 
of  the  cowardly  Brooks  in  1856  was  telling  on  Sum 
ner  in  his  advancing  years.  To  the  new  issues  and  the 
new  men  who  were  their  advocates,  Sumner  could  not 
readily  accommodate  himself  and  adjust  his  thought. 
It  was  to  his  old  friend  Whittier  that  he  turned  for  the 
sympathetic  support  denied  him  elsewhere.  On  May 
31,  1872,  Sumner  delivered  in  the  Senate  a  scathing, 
stinging  philippic  on  "  Republicanism  vs.  Grantism," 
which  at  that  time,  the  campaign  of  Grant  for  a  second 
term,  aroused  deep  resentment,  for  he  had  attacked 
a  popular  idol.  Whittier's  loyal  letter  of  sympathy 
(page  282)  must  have  been  welcome  indeed,  for  Sum 
ner  was  breaking  ties  with  his  political  friends,  and 
his  attitude  was  not  calculated  to  draw  new  ones  to 
him. 


[26] 

The  speech  against  Grant  was  succeeded  two  months 
later  by  a  letter  written  by  Sumner  which  still  further 
alienated  those  who  had  considered  themselves  bound 
politically  to  him.  This  letter  was  a  long  one,  urging 
colored  men  to  vote  for  Greeley,  to  which  Garrison 
replied,  warmly  defending  Grant  (page  181).  The  cor 
respondence  here  included,  reveals  how  deep  was  the 
friendship  to  which  Sumner  turned  in  his  isolation 
which  was  now  not  sentimental  but  actual,  and  we 
therefore  regret  the  more  that  Whittier  could  not  com 
ply,  in  part  at  least,  with  Longfellow's  request  (page 
190)  that  the  poet  write  a  life  of  the  orator,  though 
we  do  have  the  strong,  tender,  discriminating  poem, 
"Sumner"  (Poems,  208). 

With  the  establishment  of  the  "Atlantic  Monthly" 
in  1857  there  came  a  turn  in  Whittier's  life  which  is 
reflected  in  the  letters  during  the  years  that  followed. 
He  is  no  longer  the  adherent  of  an  unpopular  cause 
that  calls  for  his  verse  to  arouse  the  sleeping  moral 
sense  of  the  community,  nor  does  he  carry  the  respon 
sibility  of  arranging  the  policies  of  political  parties.  He 
has  become  the  man  of  letters,  and  he  is  included  in 
the  brotherhood  so  delightfully  described  by  Holmes 
in  his  letter  of  September  7,  1879.  Lowell,  too,  recog 
nizes  Whittier  as  one  of  that  group  of  rare  men  who 
cooperated  in  the  beginnings  of  the  "Atlantic." 

But  the  pleasure  to  be  found  in  these  letters  is  not 
in  the  historical  allusion  to  the  political  strife,  or  even 
to  the  glorious  uprising  for  human  freedom.  It  is  in 
the  revelation  of  Whittier's  delightful  intercourse  with 
his  friends.  Some  who  had  years  before  borne  with 
Whittier  the  burden  of  the  slave,  recall  the  experiences 
of  their  youth.  Some  write  him  from  delight  at  writ- 


[a?] 

ing,  for  they  loved  the  man,  and  they  enjoy  telling  him 
that  they  take  pleasure  in  the  friendship.  Others  in 
addition  show  deep  respect  for  his  counsel  and  judg 
ment.  It  is  to  be  noted  how  many  requests  there  are 
for  Whittier's  aid,  and  he  seems  ready  to  comply. 
There  are  situations  suggested  at  times  that  seem  to 
lead  inevitably  to  action  by  Whittier,but  none  is  taken. 
Either  his  health  does  not  permit,  or  his  well-known 
aversion  to  appearing  in  public  prevents.  Or  it  may 
be  that  his  Quaker  principles  stand  in  the  way.  Later 
in  life,  however,  it  is  his  counsel  that  men  seek;  they 
do  not  look  for  his  personal  presence.  The  result  was 
that  Whittier  occupied  a  peculiarly  strong  position,  for 
he  suggested,  while  it  was  left  to  others  to  execute. 
In  the  event  of  delay  or  defeat,  he  was  not  the  one  on 
whom  the  responsibility  was  placed;  it  was  rather  on 
the  men  of  action.  And  such  counsellors  are  needed, 
for,  as  in  Whittier's  case,  the  sober,  calm  judgment  of 
one  who  can  view  a  matter  from  the  outside  and  broadly, 
is  of  great  value  to  those  who  are  in  the  midst  of  the 
strife  and  may  be  confused  by  the  turmoil. 

His  anxiety  about  the  Grimke  sisters'  course  at  a 
time  when  multitudes  were  waiting  on  their  words ;  his 
foresight  that  through  a  third  party  must  success  come, 
though  slow,  uncertain  and  wearisome  at  times  might 
be  its  progress  ;  his  judgment  of  men  and  of  their  re 
spective  capabilities  for  special  duties ;  all  show  that 
the  confidence  of  his  friends  was  well  founded.  And 
all  this  demonstrates  too  that  the  poet,  for  it  is  as  a 
poet  that  Whittier  will  live,  was  not  a  dreamer,  an 
austere  ascetic,  a  recluse,  who  by  chance  was  able  to 
give  expression  to  thoughts  that  the  world  of  action 
gladly  welcomes,  but  that  he  was  a  man  among  men. 


[28    ] 

And  so  the  inquiry  as  to  the  poet's  personality  per 
sists,  for  that  personality  dominates  the  verse. 

The  three  men  whose  names  are  now  closely  as 
sociated  with  Whittier's,  Longfellow,  Holmes,  and 
Lowell,  were  clearly  conventional  in  their  manners 
and  customs,  and  they  mingled  with  their  neighbors 
and  with  the  world  on  equal  terms.  The  reader  does 
not  feel  that  he  must  have  a  knowledge  of  the  writer's 
personality  in  order  to  interpret  the  poems  or  under 
stand  the  allusions.  There  is,  of  course,  the  interest 
that  attaches  to  any  author  who  attracts  us,  but  it  is 
not  of  the  same  kind  or  degree  as  that  which  leads  us 
to  study  Whittier  himself.  And,  while  searching  for 
facts  about  Whittier  to  see  why  he  could  and  should 
give  voice  to  such  thoughts  of  love  and  of  power,  we 
find  these  words  of  warning:  — 

u  Why  should  the  stranger  peer  and  pry 
One's  vacant  house  of  life  about, 
And  drag  for  curious  ear  and  eye 
His  faults  and  follies  out  ? 

"  Why  stuff,  for  fools  to  gaze  upon, 
With  chaff  of  words,  the  garb  he  wore, 
As  corn  husks  when  the  ear  is  gone 
Are  rustled  all  the  more  ? 

"  Let  kindly  Silence  close  again, 
The  picture  vanish  from  the  eye, 
And  on  the  dim  and  misty  main 
Let  the  small  ripple  die." 

("  My  Namesake,"  Poems,  393.) 

But  because  the  experiences  in  his  poems  are  his ;  the 
scenes  are  laid  in  his  own  county  and  his  own  valley ; 
the  people  are  his  neighbors,  his  friends,  his  family ; 


and  even  in  his  religious  verse,  which  has  a  fervor 
rarely  found,  there  is  still  the  tinge  due  to  his  personal 
interpretation  of  the  faith  of  his  ancestors,  so  there 
will  always  be  the  inquiry  as  to  who  and  what  was 
Whittier?  And  in  these  letters  is  the  answer,  for  here 
can  be  seen  his  growth  from  the  time  of  his  first  ex 
tended  absence  from  home,  even  before  he  enlisted  in 
the  cause  of  the  slave,  to  the  end  of  his  long  life  sixty- 
two  years  later ;  first  the  young  editor ;  then  the  anti- 
slavery  worker;  then  the  politician  still  pressing  for 
emancipation  in  a  practical  way,  by  the  ballot ;  then 
the  trusted  friend  of  Sumner;  and  always  the  Quaker 
with  his  inherited  traditions  to  be  sustained  and  his 
personal  faith  to  be  lived.  Meanwhile  he  is  at  work  on 
his  verse  by  which  his  fame  is  made  secure.  He  makes 
new  friends,  sees  new  life  and  forms  new  associations, 
and  these  experiences  appear  in  the  letters. 

Though  many  of  the  writers  have  become  subject  to 
the  pitiless,  relentless  operation  of  the  Act  of  Oblivion 
which  is  gradually  but  surely  extending  over  others, 
yet  in  their  correspondence  is  preserved  the  intercourse 
of  Whittier  and  his  friends,  through  which  we  can  see 
him,  as  they  saw  him,  and  we  can  learn  why  he  rightly 
deserved  and  received  the  confidence,  the  respect,  the 
love  of  his  associates. 

JOHN   ALBREE. 


CORRESPONDENCE 


To   HIS   MOTHER 

Hartford,  ytb  of  qtb  month,  1830. 
MY  DEAR  MOTHER: 

I  have  concluded  it  best  to  write  this  morning, 
because  my  paper  of  tomorrow  contains  an  apology  for 
not  having  more  editorial  matter  in  it,  on  account  of 
my  ill-health.  The  truth  is  I  have  had  a  tremendous 
cold  —  a  sort  of  influenza,  which  is  very  prevalent  at 
this  time;  and  have  been  confined  at  home  most  of  the 
time  for  a  week  or  ten  days  past ;  I  am  getting  over 
it  slowly.  I  have  an  excellent  place  here,  at  Esq. 
Law's  ;  all  the  family  are  very,  very  kind.  His  wife  is 
one  of  the  very  best  of  women  ;  she  is  always  ready  to 
do  anything  for  me.  There  are  three  young  ladies 
boarding  here  —  two  of  whom  are  now  sick  with  this 
same  influenza,  so  that  we  can  all  be  unhappy  together. 
Why,  we  have  taken  herb  drink  enough  to  carry  a 
saw-mill  four  and  twenty  hours, —  and  as  for  medi 
cine,  I  have  had  enough  of  that,  and  furthermore  I 
have  broken  over  the  Temperance  rules ;  and  gin-sling 
and  brandy  and  laudanum  are  getting  to  be  familiar 
to  me.  Don't  mention  this  to  Thayer.1  By  the  way 
how  does  Thayer  get  along  now  ?  A  new  paper  has 
been  got  up  there  I  see  —  by  a  poor,  miserable,  good 
natured  fellow  of  a  *******j  |3Ut  jt  won't;  iive>  it 
cannot  possibly  survive  a  twelvemonth. 

I  got  a  letter  from  Mercy2  the  other  day,  and  was 
1  A.  W.  Thayer  (1796-1864),  editor  of  the  Haver  bill  Gazette, 
aided  Whittier  in  rnany  ways  during  the  early  years. 
a  Mercy  Evans  Hussey,  sister  of  Whittier' s  mother. 
"  The  sweetest  woman  ever  Fate 
Perverse  denied  a  household  mate." 

Snow- Bound* . 


[34] 

very  glad  to  hear  from  you.  I  owe  a  letter  to  Frank 
lin  '  and  shall  let  him  have  it  soon.  He  wrote  me  a 
real  good  letter.  How  is  Elizabeth?2  Does  she  write 
poetry  now?  That  "Penitent"  of  hers  was  well  done  — 
only  if  I  had  been  at  home  I  should  have  suggested 
an  alteration.  Tell  her  I  shall  come  home  in  Novem 
ber  and  will  look  over  her  pieces.  Tell  her  to  fill  up 
the  chest-drawer  up  in  my  chamber  with  them.  How 
does  Jacob  and  Mary  3  do  ?  I  know  well  enough  whose 
work  it  was  sending  that  poetry  of  E.  to  Thayer.  I 
haven't  forgotten  the  piece  that  was  carried  to  Rein- 
hart.4  Does  Jacob  get  my  paper  regularly  ?  I  am  afraid 
the  papers  of  last  week  didn't  reach  Haverhill,  as  I 
did  n't  see  to  it  myself. 

The  folks  here  say  that  E.  will  make  a  better  writer 
than  her  brother.  Only  think  of  that.  —  Oh!  one  of 
our  female  boarders  is  the  girl  that  Prentice  was  dying 
for  —  almost  —  and  he  has  written  poetry  enough  to 
her  to  fill  a  meal-bag.  The  only  gentleman  boarder 

1  Matthew  Franklin  Whittier  (1812-1883). 

"Ah,  brother,  only  I  and  thou 
Are  left  of  all  that  circle  now,  — 
The  dear  home  faces  whereupon 
That  fitful  fireplace  paled  and  shone." 

2  Elizabeth  Hussey  Whittier  (1815-1864). 

"  Our  youngest  and  our  dearest.'* 

3  Mary  (1806-1860),  Whittier' s  elder  sister,  wife  of  Jacob  Cald- 

well. 

'«  A  full,  rich  nature,  free  to  trust, 

Truthful  and  almost  sternly  just.  .  .  . 
Keeping  with  many  a  light  disguise 
The  secret  of  self-sacrifice. ' ' 

*  E.  W.  Reinhart  was  for  some  months  editor  of  the  Haverbill 
Gazette,  preceding  Thayer.  Chase,  Hist.  Haverhill,  654. 


[35] 

here  is  Dr.  Crane  —  a  clever  young  physician  —  who 
has  been  very  kind  to  me  ever  since  I  have  been  here. 

The  people  here  like  me  very  well,  I  believe,  and 
I  do  them.  But  I  want  to  get  back  to  Haverhill  once 
more  and  spend  a  good  time  with  you.  Is  Mary 
Hepsy  with  you  now?  My  love  to  her,  and  to  Uncle 
Jones'  folks.  How  does  Lois  Chase  get  along  now? 
Is  she  about  getting  married?  If  so,  I  am  glad  of  it. 

But  I  must  stop  writing.  I  have  been,  except  this 
cold,  very  well  since  I  have  been  here.  Tis  a  pleasant 
place:  and  full  of  clever  people.  Tell  Elizabeth  I  am 
sorry  she  did  not  continue  at  the  Academy.  If  she 
sees  the  village  girls  soon,  let  her  give  my  love  — 
almost  —  to  them. 

JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER. 

Somebody  must  write  soon. 


To   HIS   SISTER   ELIZABETH 

Boston,  iitb  4/£  month,  '35. 


DEAR  ELIZABETH  : 

I  am  getting  better  slowly  and  the  Doctor 
thinks  I  can  be  able  to  ride  to  Haverhill  the  latter 
part  of  this  week,  if  nothing  happens.  I  may  pos 
sibly  come,  Sixth  day,  if  the  weather  is  good.1  At  all 
events  Aunt  Mercy  will  come  up  from  Salem  that  day, 
so  somebody  had  better  go  to  the  village.  And  you 
will  be  likely  to  get  one  or  the  other  of  us,  perhaps 
both.  I  rode  out  to  Roxbury  yesterday  and  to-day, 
although  I  don't  like  the  east  wind  which  is  very 
chilly  here. 

Tell  Franklin  that  I  shall  bring  home  with  me,  or 
shortly  after,  a  young  "nigger,"  a  bright  active  boy 
about  13,  who  is  highly  recommended  as  a  well  be 
haved  and  intelligent  youngster.  He  has  always  lived 
in  the  city,  and  I  suppose  it  will  take  sometime  to  learn 
him  to  work,  etc.  but  his  school-master  says  he  is  very 
tractable. 

Geo.  Thompson  2  visited  me  yesterday.  He  lectured 
in  the  afternoon  to  about  500  ladies  and  at  the  close 

1  The  session  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  in  which  Whittier 
served  as  a  member  from  Haverhill,  was  nearing  its  close. 

a  George  Thompson  (  1  804-1  878),  the  English  anti-slavery  orator, 
arrived  in  the  United  States  December,  1834.  "  I  was  mobbed  in 
Concord,  N.  H.  [Sept.  1835]  in  company  with  George  Thompson, 
afterwards  member  of  the  British  Parliament,  and  narrowly  escaped 
from  great  danger.  I  kept  Thompson,  whose  life  was  hunted  for,  con 
cealed  in  our  lonely  farmhouse  for  two  weeks."  From  a  privately 
printed  broadside  sent  by  Whittier  to  inquirers  for  facts  about  himself. 


[37] 

of  his  Lecture  60  new  members  joined  the  Boston  La 
dies  A-S.  Soc'y-  I  wish  very  much  to  get  home,  but 
am  somewhat  fearful  that  the  fatigue  of  the  ride  would 
be  rather  too  much  for  me.  If  it  is  fair  weather.  Fifth 
day,  and  I  am  as  well  as  usual,  I  may  ride  out  as  far  as 
Reading  and  stay  all  night  and  so  come  up  in  the  morn 
ing  to  Hav'll.  Love  to  Mother  and  all. 

J.  G.  WHITTIER. 


From   CALEB   GUSHING 

Washington,  Dec.  24,  1835. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

You  will  have  noticed,  undoubtedly,  the  pro 
ceedings  in  Congress  on  the  subject  of  slavery  and  the 
slave-trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia;  but,  without 
some  explanation,  you  may  be  puzzled  to  understand 
the  principle  of  the  various  votes  ;  for  the  debates  them 
selves  furnish  a  very  imperfect  means  of  judgment  in 
this  case. 

Of  the  Massachusetts  Delegation,  Messrs.  [Abbott] 
Lawrence,  [Levi]  Lincoln,  [Stephen  C.]  Phillips  and 
[JoTin]  Reed,  with  myself,  each  on  one  occasion,  voted 
for  laying  on  the  table,  for  reasons  applicable  to  the 
particular  occasions  themselves,  and  wholly  independ 
ent  of  the  merits  of  the  question.  In  general,  the  Whigs 
and  Antimasons  from  the  Northern  and  Middle  States 
voted,  in  various  shapes,  for  receiving  and  committing 
the  Petitions.,  This  includes  the  Massachusetts  Dele 
gation.  In  general  the  pledged  Van  Bur  en  men  voted 
for  any  and  every  proposition,  which  tended  to  evade 
the  question  or  to  suppress  debate.  With  them,  also, 
voted  some  individuals,  who  conscientiously  thought, 
aside  from  party-politics,  that  such  was  the  most  ju 
dicious  course. 

The  more  zealous  of  the  Southerners,  such  as  the 
S.  Carolinians,  and  some  of  the  Georgians  and  Virgini 
ans,  voted  with  the  Northern  Whigs  and  Antimasons. 
Extremes  meet.  The  Southerners  voted  against  laying 


[39] 

on  the  table,  insisting  on  a  summary  rejection  of  the 
Petitions  without  inquiry ;  and  this  caused  them  to 
caucus  in  vote  with  the  Massachusetts  Delegation, 
but  for  opposite  reasons.  We  thought  that  good  sense 
and  justice  dictated  a  disposition  of  the  matter,  though 
a  Committee  is  the  ordinary  course  of  legislation.  It 
is  perfectly  certain  that  the  House  will  do  nothing  on 
the  subject.  About  two  thirds  of  the  Members  have 
by  their  votes  and  declarations,  pledged  themselves  to 
dispose  of  all  Petitions,  so  far  as  they  may  be  able  to 
get  the  floor,  by  the  undebateable  motion  to  lay  on  the 
table. 

Members  from  Pennsylvania  and  the  States  east  of 
it,  have  sundry  Petitions  already  in  their  possession 
to  present.  I  have  heard  that  others  are  coming  from 
Massachusetts.  If  they  are  respectful  and  proper  in  lan 
guage,  we  shall  of  course  present  them,  for  the  sake 
of  our  constituents.  At  the  same  time,  if  you  could  see 
for  yourself  its  unpleasant  effects  in  reference  to  our 
views  of general  usefulness  here,  you  would  understand 
why  it  is  that  we  shall  discharge  this  part  of  our  duty 
to  our  constituents  with  a  heavy  heart. 

Some  of  the  Southerners  have  agreed  that  the  slave 
trade  in  this  District  is  protected  unchangeably  by  the 
Constitution ;  they  have  proved  the  reverse  to  every 
reflecting  mind.  At  the  same  time,  while  the  debates 
and  proceedings  of  the  week  have  not  shown  the  con 
stitutional  difficulties  for  which  some  have  contended, 
they  have  shown  the  moral  impossibility  of  accomplish 
ing  any  thing  in  the  present  House. 

I  knew  that  I  could  not  write  to  you  on  any  sub 
ject  of  more  interest  to  yourself;  and  I  thought  you 
might,  perhaps,  expect  of  me  some  information  as  to 


[40] 

the  course  things  are  taking  on  this  subject.  You  are 
aware  how  sensitive  our  people  are  in  reference  to  this 
whole  matter;  and  I  therefore  speak  to  yourself  only, 
knowing  that  I  may  do  so  in  confidence  and  without 
reserve. 

Very  truly  and  respectfully, 

C.  GUSHING 

MR.  WHITTIER 

P.  S.  I  beg  of  you,  if  any  Petitions  are  to  be  sent 
to  me,  that  they  may  be  brief  business  papers,  free  of 
the  bitter  language  good  Mr.  G[arrison]  cultivates 
in  the  Liberator. 


From  STEPHEN  C.  PHILLIPS1  (Confidential)2 

Washington,  31  Deer.  1835. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  wish  to  submit  to  you  a  few  remarks  upon 
the  subject  in  which  you  feel  so  deep  an  interest,  and 
of  the  importance  of  which  I  am  equally  convinced, 
the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

You  have  noticed  of  course  the  discussions  which 
have  thus  far  taken  place  here.  They  exhibit  great  sen 
sitiveness,  desperate  rashness,  and  a  spirit  of  dictation 
on  the  part  of  the  South,  and  far  too  much  subser 
viency  on  the  part  of  the  North.  They  show  however 

1  Stephen  Clarendon  Phillips  was  born  in  Salem,  1801,  was  gradu 
ated  at  Harvard,  1819,  studied  law  but  entered  mercantile  life  in 
Salem.   From  1 824  to  1833  he  served  either  as  Senator  or  Representa 
tive  in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature.   In  1834  he  was  elected  to  Con 
gress  as  a  Whig,  succeeding  Rufus  Choate,  and  continued  until  1838 
when  he  resigned  and,  in  December  of  the  same  year,  he  became 
Mayor  of  Salem,  remaining  in  office  until  March,  1842.    In  1848  and 
again  in  1 849  he  was  the  candidate  of  the  newly  organized  Free  Soil 
party  for  Governor  of  Massachusetts.    He  was  engaged  in  extensive 
lumbering  interests  in  Canada  where  he  lost  his  life  in  the  burning  of 
a  steamer  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  June  26,  1857. 

In  the  Salem  Register,  July  2,  1857,  appeared  the  following  :  — 
"A  fellow-member  of  Congress,   Hardin  of  Kentucky,  once  ex 
claimed  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  '  If  all  the  members  of  the  House 
were  like  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts,  God  would  never  have 
repented  that  he  made  man.'  ' 

2  The  use  of  the  word  "  confidential,"  which  long  since  lost  any 
significance  it  might  have  had  here,  shows  what  were  the  relations 
between  the  young  Whittier  and  men  holding  high  office. 


[4*] 

that  the  principal  part  which  Northern  men  have  been 
prevailed  on  to  play  in  the  miserable  game  (of  which  the 
Presidency  is  the  prize)  is  to  be  ready  to  vote,  as  soon 
as  called  upon,  to  lay  the  subject  on  the  table.  This 
is  an  act  of  great  weakness,  but  there  is  too  much 
Northern  blood  in  them  to  superadd  outright  treach 
ery  to  the  principles  and  institutions  of  the  free  States. 
They  can  degrade  themselves  to  practise  submission 
for  a  while;  they  can  volunteer  equivocal  proof  of  their 
degeneracy ;  but  still  they  have  given  some  evidence 
that  if  forced  to  decide  whether  they  will  openly  sac 
rifice  their  principles  and  absolutely  surrender  their 
rights,  most  of  them  will  decide  correctly,  however  re 
luctantly. 

Could  the  question  have  been  reached  upon  the 
motion  to  reject  petitions,  the  great  mass  of  Northern 
votes  would  have  proved  a  formidable  negative.  Now 
the  difference  between  rejecting  petitions  and  laying 
them  upon  the  table  without  debate  in  order  to  get 
rid  of  them,  although  so  long  as  it  is  misunderstood, 
it  may  satisfy  their  political  consciences,  must  so  soon 
come  to  be  regarded  by  others,  and  finally  to  be  ad 
mitted  by  themselves  as  no  difference  at  all,  that  there 
must  before  long  be  a  time  when  either  motion  will 
share  the  same  fate,  and  when  neither  can  be  sustained. 
From  the  necessary  action  of  public  opinion,  con 
stantly  aided  by  the  violence  of  the  attempt  to 
resist  it,  the  course  of  Congress  upon  this  subject 
must  be  onward  —  slowly  it  may  be,  —  but  surely 
onward. 

Now  what  I  wish  to  suggest  to  you  is,  that  the 
next  step  after  the  failure  of  the  motion  to  lay  petitions 
upon  the  table  without  debate,  (which  will  fail  at  first 


[43] 

from  the  temporary  co-operation  of  those  who  are  will 
ing  for  debate  from  opposite  motives)  will  be  to  attempt 
to  reject  them  by  means  of  a  debate,  in  which  the  mer 
its  of  the  petitions  will  be  closely  scrutinized,  and  what 
ever  there  is  in  them  of  inconclusive  reasoning,  extrav 
agant  statement  and  harsh  allusion,  will  be  denounced 
as  sophistry,  fanaticism,  and  disrespect. 

Thus  far  scarcely  any  of  the  petitions  have  been  read, 
and  none  of  them  printed,  and  but  few  have  taken  the 
trouble  to  ascertain  their  contents,  so  that  if  they  have 
fallen  short  of  what  they  should  have  been,  it  has  not 
been  of  much  consequence ;  but  I  confess  I  am  very 
desirous  that,  as  soon  as  we  can  prevail  upon  the  House 
to  hear,  to  print  and  to  discuss  them,  we  should  have 
such  petitions  as  will  do  justice  to  the  object  in  view, 
breathing  a  spirit  of  pure  benevolence,  and  exhibiting 
the  strongest  facts  and  clearest  arguments  in  a  form  of 
language  manifestly  unexceptionable. 

I  wish  there  were  just  such  petitions  here  now,  and 
that  all  which  are  to  come  during  the  present  Session 
might  be  of  this  character ;  since  they  might  be  used 
with  great  effect,  even  under  all  the  disadvantages  of 
the  position  we  occupy.  Many  of  the  petitions  are  not 
prepared,  as  it  seems  to  me,  with  due  discretion,  for 
they  are  not  adapted  to  the  existing  circumstances  of 
Congress.  They  contain  no  argument,  and  furnish  no 
evidence  that  the  question  has  been  well  examined. 
They  show  no  acquaintance  with  facts  in  relation  to 
slavery  in  the  District,  and  they  are  not  sufficiently 
limited  to  this  object.  Above  all  their  style  and  lan 
guage  are  in  several  respects  injudicious,  and  are  too 
much  calculated  to  inflame  the  feelings  before  the  judg 
ment  is  appealed  to. 


[44] 

I  beg  you  to  understand  me.  I  want  the  whole  case 
to  be  fully  stated,  with  the  strictest  accuracy  in  regard 
to  facts,  and  without  resorting  to  a  single  argument 
which  is  not  unanswerable.  It  is  perfectly  in  your 
power  to  place  these  petitions  upon  the  strongest 
grounds  of  fact  and  reasoning,  and  I  therefore  would 
advise  you  not  to  attempt  to  occupy  any  but  the  strong 
est  grounds.  In  respect  to  the  temper  and  style,  it  is 
perfectly  compatible  with  firmness  and  decision  to  be 
scrupulously  respectful,  courteous,  and  withal  concilia 
tory,  and  the  marked  predominance  of  these  qualities 
will  contribute  much  to  recommend  the  petitions  to  a 
candid  notice,  and  at  least  will  deprive  opponents  of 
the  principal  food  for  their  malice. 

I  content  myself  with  making  these  suggestions  to 
you,  and  trust  that  your  influence  will  be  such,  in  the 
preparation  of  future  petitions,  that  some  at  least  shall 
find  their  way  here  of  the  most  desirable  character. 

I  have  read  Dr.  Channing's  book  with  deep  interest, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  reply  to  it  with  entire  dis 
satisfaction.  Your  remarks  upon  Dr.  C.'s  book,  which 
I  read  in  the  Essex  Register,1  were  extremely  interest 
ing  and  gratifying  to  me. 

Please  consider  this  letter  as  designed  for  yourself 
only,  and  believe  me  to  be,  with  great  regard, 

Your  friend, 

S.  C.  PHILLIPS 
J.  G.  WHITTIER,  Esqr. 

1  " .  .  .  Dr.  Channing  objects  to  the  system  of « agitation  '  pur 
sued  by  the  Abolitionists.  He  does  not  like  the  idea  of  holding  socie 
ties  together  by  passionate  eloquence.  .  .  .  Why  deprecate  agitation, 
lawful,  peaceful,  Christian  agitation  ?  Under  God  has  it  not  broken 
the  fatal  sleep  and  disturbed  the  callous  indifference  of  our  whole  com- 


[45] 

munity  ?  Does  Dr.  Charming  need  to  be  told  that  four  years  ago  a 
silence  on  this  subject  deep  as  death,  rested  over  the  whole  land  ?  .  .  . 
A  friend  of  mine  who  visited  Washington  during  the  past  summer  told 
me  that  he  entered  the  counting  room  of  one  of  the  slave  factories,  and 
that  while  he  conversed  with  the  clerks  of  the  establishment,  he  heard 
constantly  from  the  jail-like  receptacle  of  human  property  the  clank 
and  rattle  of  chains. ' ' 

Communication  to  Salem  Register,  Dec.  17, 
1835,  signed,  «J.  G.  W.,  Haverhill." 


To   HIS   SISTER    ELIZABETH 

Harris  burg,  yd  of  the  ind  Mo.  1837. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  : 

I  wrote  thee  a  long  (or  short)  letter  some  time 
ago,  in  hopes  of  getting  an  immediate  answer — but 
as  none  has  appeared  I  now  write  a  line  from  the  capi- 
tol  of  Pennsylvania,  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  into 
the  heart  of  the  Commonwealth. 

I  left  Phila*  on  Seventh  day  in  a  double  sleigh  with 
Dr.  Dilwyn  Parish,  Chas.  Evans  and  Edw*  M.  Davis, 
son  in  law  of  Lucretia  Mott.  That  day  we  got  to  Coates- 
ville,  48  miles,  and  at  about  8  o'clk  in  the  evening  put 
up  at  our  friend's,  Lindley  Coates.  He  lives  in  a  beau 
tiful  farming  country,  in  a  large  rambling,  odd  look 
ing  stone  house  with  piazzas  running  round  it;  his 
barns,  out  buildings,  etc.  are  very  numerous  and,  being 
all  built  of  stone,  give  his  place  the  appearance  of  a 
village  or  baronial  castle.  The  old  man  received  us 
cordially.  We  found  C.  C.  Burleigh  there. 

The  next  morning  we  started  again,  passed  through 
the  large  ill-looking  town  of  Lancaster,  the  fine  village 
of  Mount  Joy,  the  beautiful  Friends  meeting  house  of 
Colne  and  stopped  all  night  at  Middletown,  about  12 
miles  from  Harrisburg.  In  the  morning,  after  a  fine 
ride  of  about  2  hours  along  the  banks  of  the  Susque- 
hanna  and  by  the  beautiful  quarries  of  marble  of  all 
hues  and  descriptions,  amidst  a  population  of  broad 
faced  Germans,  we  caught  the  first  view  of  the  fine 
bridge  spanning  the  noble  river.  Soon  Harrisburg  lay 


[47] 

before  —  a  huge  collection  of  dingy  houses  of  all  sizes 
and  patterns,  thrown  confusedly  together  —  with  the 
Capitol  or  State  House  looming  in  the  grey  mist  of 
the  morning.  We  rode  to  Wilson's,  who  married  the 
nearest  descendant  now  living  of  William  Penn. 

Notice  was  given  that  there  would  be  a  preliminary 
meeting  of  the  delegates  in  the  afternoon.  On  going 
out  I  encountered  an  army  of  delegates  from  Lan 
caster  County,  led  on  by  Lindley  Coates  and  Thos. 
Whitson  —  all  Quakers  and  as  plain  and  ugly  as  so 
many  Isaiah  Pages,  but  unlike  him  in  principles, 
talents  and  high  respectability.  The  next  day  the  Con 
vention  to  the  number  of  200  assembled.  Dr.  J.  Julius 
Le  Moyne '  —  a  tall,  large  man  about  40  years  of  age 
—  with  a  face  like  Daniel  Webster,  a  man  of  com 
manding  influence  and  talents  and  a  most  powerful 
and  eloquent  speaker,  was  appointed  President  of  the 
Convention.  Orange  Scott  and  A.  A.  Phelps2  and 
Lewis  Tappan  were  present  on  this  occasion. 

The  Convention  adjourns  to-day,  after  a  session  of 
four  days;  a  large  number  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  attended  the  meetings.  I  spent  an 
evening  with  Govr.  Ritner  who  is  a  warm  hearted  abo 
litionist.  He  is  about  60  years  of  age,  large  and  full 
faced.  He  came  to  the  door  when  we  knocked,  him- 

1  This  was  not  Dr.  John  Julius  Le  Moyne  (1760-1849),  but  his 
son,  Dr.  Francis  Julius  Le  Moyne  (1798-1879)  of  Washington, 
Penn.,  where  in  1 876  he  built  the  first  crematory  in  the  United  States, 
not  however  with  the  entire  approval  of  his  neighbors.  Crumrine,  Hist. 
of  Washington  Co.  Penn.,  544. 

*  Rev.  A.  A.  Phelps  (1804-1847).  At  this  time  he  was  pastor  of  the 
church,  corner  of  Washington  and  Pine  Streets,  Boston,  and  Secre 
tary  of  the  Massachusetts  Anti-Slavery  Society.  During  1 847  his  name 
appeared  with  Whittier's  as  an  associate  editor  of  the  National  Era. 


[48] 

self,  shook  us  heartily  by  the  hand ;  and  in  German 
accents  told  us  he  "  wast  glad  to  see  us."  He  is  very 
intelligent,  is  perfectly  at  home  on  most  subjects  — 
especially  as  regards  matters  pertaining  to  abolition. 
His  son  was  a  delegate  to  the  Convention. 

Philadelphia,  $th  id  mo.  37. 
at  A.  W.  Thayers. 

We  got  back  last  night  about  4  o'clk  from  Harris- 
burg.  We  started  in  the  Rail  Road  cars  at  4  o'clk  in 
the  morning.  We  stopped  at  Lancaster  to  take  break 
fast.  On  sitting  down  at  the  table  there  was  found  to 
be  a  colored  man,  Rev.  Chas.  Gardner,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  in  the  company.  Suddenly  some  one  said, 
"  There 's  a  nigger  at  the  table."  The  bar  keeper  laid 
hold  of  the  man  and  pulled  his  chair  from  under  him. 
Dr.  Lemoyne  rose  and  demanded  that  a  vote  should 
be  taken  whether  the  colored  man  should  sit  at  the 
table.  The  bar  keeper  agreed  to  it.  The  question  was 
put  and  carried  in  the  affirmative,  as  there  were  50 
abolitionists  present.  Upon  this  the  landlord  entered. 
Ten  young  men  from  slave-holding  States  happened 
to  be  present.  One  of  them,  dressed  hideously  in  a  buf 
falo  skin,  drew  out  his  pistols  and  brandished  his  dirk. 
The  landlord  dragged  the  colored  man  from  the  table. 
Dr.  Le  Moyne  rose  froni  the  table  and  we  all  followed, 
paid  the  scoundrel  for  a  breakfast  which  we  had  not 
eaten,  and  bought  our  breakfast  in  the  streets  and  gro 
ceries.  To-night  I  believe  Burleigh  and  Scott  and  Dr. 
Lemoyne  will  lecture,  but  I  shall  not  probably  attend. 

I  shall  spend  a  few  days  in  Philada.  and  then  start 
for  home,  as  I  cannot  find  the  employment  which  I 
wish  for  in  Philad%  and  have  had  an  urgent  request  to 


[49] 

go  to  Maine  and  take  charge  of  an  anti-slavery  paper 
in  Portland. 

All  the  folks  here  send  their  love.  I  am  as  ever 
with  love  to  Mother  and  Aunt  Mercy  and  Uncle  and 
Aunt  Jones  and  Ann  and  Jacob  and  Mary  and  all. 

J.  G.  WHITTIER 


fo  HIS   SISTER   ELIZABETH 

New  Fork,  i8tb  jtb  mo.  [1837] 
DEAR  SISTER: 

Well,  have  our  friends  the  Grimkes1  been 
with  you  yet,  and  if  so  how  did  you  like  them  ?  I 
am  sure  they  are  calculated  to  do  a  great  deal  of  good. 

There  is  nothing  new  in  this  city;  it  is  a  general 
time  of  health;  there  is  little  business  stirring  and  the 
people  are  moving  into  the  country. 

My  health  is  now  pretty  good.  I  have  been  in 
vited  to  go  up  and  spend  a  day  or  two  in  West  Chester 
Co.  by  Jos.  Pierce,  father  of  Abigail  Pierce,  formerly 
teacher  in  Providence  School,  and  also  at  Long  Island. 
I  think  I  shall  go  in  a  few  days  to  one  or  the  other  of 
these  places. 

As  I  could  not  do  anything  immediately  at  Port 
land,  perhaps  it  is  best  for  me  to  be  here.  My  board, 
expenses  etc.,  are  heavy,  being  at  the  rate  of  $6.50  per 
week,  —  my  compensation  is  $80  per  month.  Will 
thee  write  me  soon?  I  am  very  anxious  to  hear  from 
you,  not  having  heard  a  syllable  from  you  since  I  left. 
I  cannot  account  for  the  reason.  How  is  sister  Mary  ? 
I  want  to  write  her,  but  have  been  so  much  engaged 
that  I  have  hardly  found  time. 

There  are  some  beautiful  places  in  the  outskirts  of 
New  York.  The  city  itself  is  a  dirty  place,  but  our 
office  is  on  the  Park,  —  a  beautiful  green  —  sur 
rounded  with  fine  shade  trees  and  enjoying  a  cool 

1  Appendix  B,  p.  265. 


breeze.  In  the  warm  evenings  thousands  of  people  are 
walking  in  it.  The  weather  thus  far,  has  not  been  very 
hot,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  no  warmer 
here  than  in  Amesbury,  inasmuch  as  the  sea-breeze 
counteracts  the  effects  of  a  more  Southern  latitude. 
There  are  some  parts  of  the  city  too  dirty  to  visit. 
Boston  is  a  perfect  Shaker  village  for  neatness,  com 
pared  to  New  York. 

I  have  written  this  letter  almost  entirely  for  the  pur 
pose  of  getting  an  answer  to  my  other  letters,  and  shall 
think  very  strange  if  one  is  not  forth-coming.  Love  to 
Mother,  Aunt  Mercy  and  all. 

J.  G.  WHITTIER. 

Mother  says  I  must  write  in  this  letter  and  tell  thee 
to  write  to  Greenleaf,  but  my  pen  is  so  bad  that  I 
shall  do  no  such  thing. 

M.  F.  WHITTIER 

Amesbury,  July  29\h 


To  HIS   SISTER    MARY   CALDWELL 

Office  of  Am.  A-S.  Soc. 

[New  York,  8th  Mo.  1837.] 
DEAR  SISTER  : 

I  send  thee  a  line  just  to  let  thee  know  that  I 
have  not  forgotten  thee,  and  the  rest  of  the  folks.  I 
have  written  two  or  three  times  to  Elizabeth,  but  not 
a  word  in  answer,  has  reached  me.  I  expected,  when  I 
left  home,  to  have  gone  direct  to  Maine — but  the 
hard  times  coming  on  just  as  the  paper  was  to  have 
started,  compelled  them  to  abandon  the  idea  until 
things  looked  more  favorable.  Under  these  circum 
stances  and  feeling  it  to  be  necessary  to  do  something, 
I  concluded  to  go  to  New  York,  although  I  dislike  the 
place  very  much  —  especially  in  the  summer  season. 

I  am  boarding  in  the  family  of  a  Spanish  gentle 
man,  F.  De  Loyo,  a  brother  in  law  of  Chas.  Stuart.1 
The  city  is  healthy  as  usual,  at  this  season.  Theodore 
D.  Weld  and  James  A.  Thome  are  here  with  me. 
We  have  a  very  comfortable  time,  considering  all 
things.  I  do  not  labor  very  hard,  and  take  what  ex 
ercise  I  can.  The  last  week  has  been  one  of  the  hot 
test  I  ever  knew;  it  is  almost  as  much  as  one's  life  is 
worth  to  venture  into  the  sunshine  as  it  falls  blazing 
hot  on  the  white  pavements. 

The  cause  of  Abolition  is  going  on  well  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  By  the  time  Congress  meets  there  will 

1  Charles  Stuart  (1783-1865),  an  officer  in  the  English  Army  who 
came  to  the  United  States  to  enter  anti-slavery  work.  He  planned  to 
establish  here  a  manual  training  school  for  Negroes,  for  which  he  had 
already  collected  $1000  in  England. 


[53] 

be  petitions  enough  to  break  all  the  tables  in  the  Capi 
tol,  ready  for  delivery.  How  do  the  Haverhill  socie 
ties  get  along?  I  understand  Ames  has  backed  out. 

I  have  visited  some  in  Friends'  families  since  I  have 
been  here.  The  Orthodox  Friends  have  only  one 
meeting,  —  the  Hicksites  three.  They  have  little  or  no 
intercourse  with  each  other. 

Have  you  heard  anything  from  Franklin?  I  saw 
him  in  Boston  on  his  way  to  the  West,  but  have  not 
heard  one  syllable  from  him  since.  He  talked  of  go 
ing  to  Michigan  —  whether  he  did  or  not  I  cannot  say. 
I  furnished  him  with  letters  to  Isaac  E.  Crary,  mem 
ber  of  Cong,  from  Mich,  and  to  Thomas  Chandler, 
and  others. 

H.  B.  Stanton1  is  now  in  Mass,  and  will  probably 
visit  Haverhill  before  he  returns.  He  will  tell  thee 
how  we  are  getting  along  here.  How  does  William  do  ? 
I  saw  him  a  few  moments  in  Boston.  Tell  Jacob2  that 
[Marcus]  Morton  will  come  in  Governor  this  year,  if 
the  abolitionists  take  the  precaution  to  propose  ques 
tions  to  him  and  [Edward]  Everett  touching  the  sub 
ject  of  Slavery.  Have  thee  seen  Miss  Martineau's 
book  ?  'T  is  very  interesting.  I  have  received  a  long 
letter  from  Henry  Clay 3  on  the  subject  of  Slavery, 
etc.  He  professes  to  be  opposed  to  Slavery,  but  is  not 
an  abolitionist.  I  am  anxious  to  hear  from  some  of 
you.  Mother's  health  when  I  left,  was  not  good.  Re 
member  me  kindly  to  Jacob  and  believe  me  thy  af- 
fectionate  Brother  .•,.;••  JOHN  G.  WHITTIER 

1  Then  a  fellow  worker  in  the  New  York  office. 

2  Jacob  Caldwell  was  proprietor  of  the  Essex  Gazette  of  Haver 
hill  in  1836  when  Whittier  was  its  editor. 

3  Printed  in  Carpenter,  Wbittier,  156. 


From  HIS  SISTER  ELIZABETH 

$tb  day  evening  [Sept.  1837.] 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER  GREENLEAF : 

Franklin  '  has  brought  me  his  letter  to  finish. 
What  a  reporter  of  our  speech  makers !  Franklin  gets 
along  just  as  when  thee  was  here ;  is  in  good  spirits 
however.  Aunt  Mercy  is  at  home,  and  we  are  com 
fortable.  How  do  thee  do?  When  shall  we  see  thy 
book  ?  I  suppose  thee  are  to  appear  as  author  "found 
two  niggers  beads  between."  We  here  have  been  re 
monstrating  with  the  Honorable*  again,  and  I  [torn] 
made  another  pilgrimage  of  our  village  with  Bunyans 
rolls  —  and  we  sent  the  remonstrance  of  Sally  Chase 
and  195  others  !  All  the  names  were  obtained  by  my 
self. 

23.  I  can  fancy  how  Joshua 2  managed  with  the  run 
aways  —  (how  queer  !  thee  and  Joshua,  thy  first  school 
master,  acting  in  concert  in  such  great  matters.)  Are 
you  not  venturing  somewhat  in  publishing  names, 
places  and  so  on  ?  I  hope  thee  have  a  good  boarding 
place  and  are  comfortable.  I  have  not  seen  Mary  since 
thee  left.  I  liked  the  report  well. 

Mrs.  Chapman  talks  a  little  like  one  not  in  the 

1  Matthew  Franklin  Whittier.   Whittier  himself  was  known  in  the 
family  as  "Greenleaf,"  and  by  the  Quakers  as  "John  G.  Whittier"; 
the  first  name  only  was  seldom  used  in  addressing  him. 

2  Joshua  Coffin,  "My  Old  Schoolmaster,"  Poems,  190.    His  life 
is  in  Memorial  Biographies,  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  So 
ciety,  vi,  i  (1905). 


[55] 

body.  What  did  you  make  an  agent  of  J.  T.  Wood- 
bury  for?  A[bby]  Kelly  '  says  she  "  don't  like  you  at 
New  York.  You  shall  have  none  of  her  money  and 
none  from  Lynn."  Robert  Scott  sends  his  love  and 
thanks  to  thee  for  thy  trouble  in  finding  the  Morri 
sons.  He  will  go  in  the  Factory  now.  When  will  thee 
write  again  and  when  will  thee  come  home  ?  I  have 
put  thy  "Stanzas  to  Henry  Clay"  in  my  scrapbook. 
I  must  think  he  is  honest.  Won't  thee  write  to  him. 
How  is  Weld? 

Aunt  Mercy  says  they  almost  made  a  James  Nay- 
lera  of  H.  C.  Wright  in  Lynn;  they  concluded  his 
views  must  be  maintained  in  preference  to  Abolition 
ism,  and  will  thee  believe  it,  Uncle  Isaiah  was  fore 
most  in  the  belief.  Only  think  of  Uncle  Isaiah  get 
ting  so  excited  as  to  go  from  house  to  house,  to  hear 
H.  C.  W.  talk  !  So  thee  see  the  danger  of  fanaticism.3 
Shall  we  not  hear  from  thee  soon  again  ?  With  love 
for  thee  from  Mother  and  Aunt  Mercy  and  much 
from  myself — farewell.  E. 

1  Appendix  C,  p.  268. 

3  Nayler  (1616-1660)  was  a  soldier  in  Cromwell's  army,  and 
then  an  adherent  of  George  Fox.  Through  his  eloquence  he  attracted 
great  crowds,  and  he  was  regarded  as  a  new  incarnation  of  the  divine. 
Though  his  mind  became  impaired,  he  was  imprisoned,  scourged  and 
branded.  At  last  his  mind  cleared  and  his  old  friends  came  to  his  aid. 
His  life  is  the  subject  of  an  essay  by  Whittier,  Prose  Works>  ii,  69. 

3  Appendix  D,  p.  270. 


From   HIS   BROTHER   FRANKLIN 

Amesbury,  Feb.  8/£,  1838. 
DEAR  BROTHER  : 

At  the  request  of  Elisabeth,  who  says  it  gives 
the  "  headache"  to  write,  I  write  to  inform  thee  that 
we  are  all  as  well  as  when  thee  left.  Aunt  Mercy  re 
turned  from  Lynn  about  three  weeks  since.  Mother 
has  been  as  well  as  usual  this  winter.  I  was  at  Jacob's 
about  a  week  since,  all  well.  Uncle  Jones'  family  the 
same. 

Elisabeth  has  been  on  the  "  qui  vive  "  for  some 
days  past,  expecting  Harriet  Minot1  to  whom  she  has 
written,  requesting  her  to  come  down  and  stay  a  week 
or  two.  Doct.  Harris  is  in  a  state  of  "  betweenity." 
His  "  peace  "  principles  as  laid  down  by  Henry  Wright, 
and  also  the  "  anti-observe-the-Sabbath  "  views  have 
almost  swallowed  up  his  abolitionism,  although  he 
made  quite  a  "  pretty  "  speech  the  other  night.  As  near 
as  I  can  recollect,  it  was  thus  :  — 

"  My  friends,  I  have  been  thinking  while  we  have 
been  here,  that  it 's  an  awful  thing  for  the  dealers  in 
human  flesh  to  separate  families,  carrying  the  husband 
one  way,  the  wife  another,  a-a-an-d  the  children  still 
another.  And  I  could  but  reflect  on  what  my  feelings 
must  be,  should  I  go  home  to-night  and  find  my  little 
ga-a-al"  (here  his  feelings  overpowered  him  and  after 

1  Harriet  Minot,  daughter  of  Stephen  Minot  of  Haverhill ;  a  com 
panion  of  Elizabeth  Whittier's  in  the  and- slavery  riot  at  Haverhill, 
August,  1835.  Pickard,  Whit  tier,  148. 


[57] 

taking  time  to  recover  and  wiping  his  eyes  very  appro 
priately  with  his  coat  sleeve,  he  proceeded)  "  should 
find  my  little  ga-a-1  car-carried  off — Oh!  —  O  —  O 
how  I  sho-o-o-ould  feel  — ."  So  that  thee  will  per 
ceive  that  though  the  "ginowine  feenatical"  feelings 
may  be  in  a  measure  lost,  he  still  contains  the  "root 
of  the  matter." 

Dea.  Carruthers  is  well  and  busy.  Auld  Rorbit  Scott 
was  at  Mother's  the  other  evening;  he  says  as  he  shall 
shortly  go  to  work  in  the  factory  it  is  of  no  consequence 
about  the  yarn  or  Morrison. 

The  "  Reservoir  "  was  suspended  a  few  weeks  to 
make  room  for  the  "  Daily  Monitor,"  but  was  recom 
menced  this  morning. 

Why  don't  thee  send  some  papers  ?  Mark  M.  F.  W. 
on  them  and  direct  to  the  "  News  and  Courier,"  and 
they  will  come  free  of  postage. 

My  writing  school  was  rather  a  failure  though  I 
keep  it  going.  Just  as  I  commenced,  the  factories  com 
menced  working  in  the  evening  until  8,  whereby  I  lost 
about  one  half  of  my  scholars  and  I  now  [have]  only 
about  14. 

I  know  of  nothing  else  to  write  about  and  will  leave 
off. 

In  haste,  thine  truly 

M.  F.  WHITTIER. 


fo   HIS   SISTER   ELIZABETH 

Philadelphia,  i^th  nth  Mo.  38. 
DEAR  SISTER  ELIZABETH  : 

I  send  thee  with  this,  a  copy  of  my  poetry,1 
and  one  for  sister  Mary.  I  wish  I  had  something  better 
to  send.  I  forward  also  a  vest  and  cap  which  may  be 
of  some  service  to  brother  F.  I  am  very  anxious  to 
know  how  he  succeeded  in  the  Portland  matter. 

I  reached  here  two  weeks  ago  tonight,  pretty  well 
tired  out,  and  was  quite  unwell  for  some  days,  but  am 
better  now. 

WendelFs  folks  were  greatly  disappointed  because 
thee  did  not  come  on  with  me.  Never  mind,  thee  will 
be  here  this  next  spring,  if  nothing  happens.  If  thee  see 
Harriet,  mind  tell  her  I  meant  to  keep  my  word  and 
call  again,  but  was  not  able  to. 

Ann  Wendell  is  not  quite  so  well  as  usual.  Isaac's 
[Wendell]  establishment  was  destroyed  by  fire  while 
I  was  at  Amesbury.  The  loss  is  mostly  covered  by 
insurance.  Still  it  is  bad  for  his  business. 

We  live  very  comfortable  here.  Joseph  and  Rachel 
Healey  are  very  good  folks  and  we  get  along  well.  I 
have  a  fine  room  in  the  3d  story,  with  a  small  cast  iron 

1  Poems  by  John  G.  Whittier,  Philadelphia,  1838  ;  iSopp.  During 
the  summer  of  1838  Whittier  had  been  collecting  and  preparing  the 
material  for  this  volume  which  was  published  by  Healey,  with  whom 
he  was  living.  This  was  the  first  collection  to  have  Whittier' s  super 
vision  ;  that  printed  by  Knapp  of  Boston  the  previous  year,  it  is  said, 
was  issued  without  his  knowledge. 


[59] 

stove  in  it,  in  which  I  have  a  fire  occasionally.  I  burn 
wood  instead  of  coal,  as  the  latter  affects  my  throat 
unpleasantly.  The  weather  has  been  very  fine  for  this 
past  week,  warm  and  comfortable,  until  today  when 
we  have  had  a  few  flakes  of  snow. 

In  regards  to  the  cause  of  abolition  everything  here 
goes  on  as  usual ;  only  I  think  more  actively.  Our 
meetings  are  frequent  and  well  attended  and  new  con 
verts  are  multiplying. 

I  am  desirous  of  getting  a  letter  from  "  the  Master," 
just  to  learn  how  he  manages  the  affairs  of  the  village 
in  conjunction  with  Butler,  Lunt  and  Deacon  Moody 
and  others. 

Remember  me  kindly  to  all  the  friends  and  write 
soon. 

J.  G.  W. 


fo   HIS   FAMILY 

Philadelphia,  loth,  6th  Mo.  1839 
DEAR  MOTHER  AND  SISTER  AND  ALL: 

I  write  a  line  for  fear  my  letter  by  C.  T.  Torrey1 
did  not  reach  you,  which  I  forwarded  from  the  New 
York  meeting.  I  have  been  quite  ill  since,  but  am  a 
good  deal  better  now,  whether  permanently  or  not,  I 
cannot  tell. 

I  have  decided  to  leave  the  Freeman  for  a  time.  I 
would  go  to  Europe,  if  I  could  do  so  without  taking 
upon  myself  duties  and  responsibilities  which  would 
prevent  my  deriving  benefit  on  the  score  of  health.  As 
it  is,  I  shall,  I  think,  visit  Gerrit  Smith,  and  spend 
some  time  in  travelling  in  Western  NewYork,and  I  am 
in  hopes  by  so  doing  to  recover  my  usual  state  of  health. 

On  Sixth  day  next  I  expect  to  go  to  Bordentown 
and  Crosswicks  in  N.  J.  on  a  visit  to  my  friend  Sam! 
Allinson  2  for  whom  I  was  one  of  the  four  grooms 
men  on  Fifth  day  last  at  Arch  Street  Meeting.  I  shall 
be  absent  only  a  few  days.  My  health  is  not  so  good, 

1  Rev.  Charles  T.  Torrey  (1813-1846),  a  minister  in  Salem  in 
1838,  entered  the  anti-slavery  work,  and  in  1844  was  convicted  at 
Baltimore  of  aiding  slaves  to  escape,  for  which  he  was  sentenced  to 
six  years'  imprisonment.    He  died  in  prison  in  1846.   "The  Funeral 
of  Torrey,"  Prose  Works,  ii,  271. 

2  Samuel  AUinson  and  his  brother  William,  both  Quakers,  were 
associates  of  Whittier  in  his  anti-slavery  work.   Samuel  lived  on  his 
farm  near  Crosswicks,  N.  J.,  and  continued  his  philanthropic  work, 
especially  in  his  later  years,  when  he  was  active  in  establishing  the 
Reform  School  for  boys  and  girls  near  Hightstown,  N.  J. 


*    %. 


•      \       \  u 


/'  ojts 
/ 


all  things  considered,  as  when  I  left  home  last.  I  have 
not  so  much  pain  in  the  side,  but  more  in  the  back  and 
chest,  and  I  have  scarcely  any  strength  to  boast  of. 

But  all  is  right,  and  I  feel  no  disposition  to  mur 
mur  at  the  dispensations  of  Providence.  I  have  already 
many  blessings  to  be  thankful  for. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  from  Elizabeth,  that  she  is  going 
to  Weare.  I  should  like  to  go  there  myself. 

Margaret  and  Ann  Wendell  start  on  Sixth  day  for 
Newport  and  so  do  Jos.  and  Rachel  Healey.  Ann 
Wendell  is  apparently  somewhat  better.  Thayer's  folks 
are  well  as  usual. 

Love  to  Aunt  Mercy  and  to  Sister  Mary  and  Jacob, 
Uncle  Jones  and  family,  and  most  especially  to  Master 
Griffin.    Tell  him  that  I  feel  compunctions  of  con 
science,  because  I  have  not  written  him. 
Affectionately  as  ever, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


To   HIS    MOTHER 

[Philadelphia,  July,  1839.] 
MY  DEAR  MOTHER: 

I  send  thee  with  this  a  miniature  of  myself, 
taken  by  an  artist  of  this  City.  It  is  a  rough  painting, 
but  is  called  a  good  likeness.  My  health  is  about  as 
good  as  it  has  been,  but  by  no  means  good.  I  shall 
start  to-morrow  for  the  West.  I  shall  probably  go  on 
as  far  as  Cincinnati  (free  of  expense),  and  be  back  in 
about  3  weeks.  Moses  A.  Cartland1  will  take  care  of 
the  Freeman  during  my  absence,  and  perhaps  longer. 
The  summer  here  thus  far  has  been  comfortable  com 
pared  with  last  year. 

Love  to  all.  I  shall  write  soon. 

J.  G.  W. 

1  Moses  A.  Cartland  was  Whittier's  cousin,  "afterwards  widely 
known  as  a  successful  teacher."   Whittier,  Poems ,  202. 


To  HIS  SISTER  MARY  CALDWELL 

Philadelphia^  jtb  Mo.  17,  39. 
DEAR  SISTER  : 

I  write  thee  a  line  to  let  thee  know  that  I  am 
not  entirely  forgetful  of  thee,  and  Jacob  and  the  rest 
of  the  folks,  but  that  I  am  very  anxious  to  hear  how 
you  all  do.  My  health  has  been  very  miserable  — 
what  the  result  will  be  I  cannot  tell  —  but  I  have  been 
compelled  to  give  up,  in  some  measure,  my  paper  and 
to  try  to  recruit  a  little.1 

I  have  been  up  in  the  centre  of  the  State  —  to  Bed 
ford  Mineral  Springs  —  over  the  mountains  —  the 
"great  Alleghanies."  It  was  very  tedious  travelling, 
and  fatigued  me  very  much.  We  passed  over  one 
ridge  of  the  Alleghanies  on  Sixth  day  evening  last, 
between  the  hours  of  10  and  12  o'clk  at  night.  The 
driver  drove  his  horses  upon  the  gallop  down  the 
mountain,  along  the  very  edge  of  a  precipice  several 
hundred  feet  deep,  opening  into  the  rocky  valley 
between  two  mountain  summits.  It  was  a  frightful 
way  of  travelling.  I  am  now  at  home,  and  am  at  a  loss 
to  know  whether  the  trip  has  benefited  me  or  not. 

I  shall  next  week  probably  go  into  the  interior,  and 
shall  be  at  the  great  Albany  Convention,2  if  my  health 
permits.  I  wish  Elizabeth  would  come  on  to  New 

1  Appendix  E,  p.  272. 

2  At  the  Albany  Convention  Whittier  was  a  member  of  the  business 
committee,  on  which  Garrison  had  refused  to  serve.   This  committee 
submitted  a  proposition,  which,  having  been  adopted,  led  ultimately  to 
the  formation  of  a  new  political  party.    Vide  Garrison  y  ii,  309. 


[64] 

York  in  company  with  some  one  who  will  attend  the 
Convention  and  go  up  with  me  to  Albany  and  Sara 
toga  Springs.  Could  she  not  do  it?  Could  she  not 
start  so  as  to  go  with  some  body  from  Boston  ?  I  will 
write  to  Amos  A.  Phelps  and  ask  him  to  let  Elizabeth 
know  when  he  is  going  to  start  for  the  Convention. 
This  can  do  no  harm,  and  she  can  then  do  as  she 
pleases  about  it.  I  will  meet  her  in  New  York,  or 
get  Theodore  D.  Weld  to  do  so,  and  take  her  up  to 
his  beautiful  homestead  on  the  Hudson,  10  miles  from 
the  city. 

Remember  me  kindly  to  Jacob.  Tell  him  that  he 
cannot  do  better  than  to  take  a  trip  out  into  Pennsyl 
vania  with  thee,  just  to  look  at  our  Pennsylvania  farms 
and  farmers.  Moses  A.  Cartland  is  on  here  for  the 
present,  and  is  terribly  homesick  already,  but  I  hope  he 
will  soon  feel  better  about  it. 

I  am  now  staying  with  Cousin  Wendell's  folks  while 
Joseph  Healey's  wife  is  at  home,at  her  father's  in  New 
England.  I  am  anxious  to  hear  from  you  but  perhaps 
it  will  not  be  best  to  direct  a  letter  to  me  at  Philad ], 
for  I  am  not  certain  that  I  shall  be  here  for  any  length 

of  time. 

Love  to  All. 

JNO.  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER. 


From  ELIZUR  WRIGHT,  JR. 

Steamer  Charter  Oak 

Monday  Evening,  April  6,  40. 
DEAR  FRIEND  : 

Our  Abolitionist  of  this  week  will  tell  you 
more  than  I  can  now  amidst  this  terrible  drumming, 
about  the  Albany  Convention.  Birney  and  Earle  are 
nominated  ;  the  latter  for  V.  P.,  after  reading  from 
him  a  thoroughly  democratic  letter.  Birney  we  know 
will  stand.  We  hoped  Earle  might,  or  might  be  made 
to.  He  may  be  assured  that  all  who  go  for  the  rights 
of  the  colored  man,  will  go  as  he  does  for  the  rights 
of  the  uncolored. 

Now  that  the  nomination  is  made,  it  is  very  import 
ant  there  should  be  no  backing  out,  and  I  would  sug 
gest  that  if  you  so  think,  you  should  drop  a  letter  to 
Earle  full  of  the  right  counsel  on  this  point.  You 
probably  stand  higher  in  his  regard  than  any  other 
man.  Harrison  you  will  have  seen  has  endorsed  his 
Vincennes  Speech,  and  is  pronounced  by  the  Charles 
ton  Courier!  as  on  a  par  with  Van  Buren  as  a  sup 
porter  of  the  patriarchs.  This  takes  away  the  whole 
argument  for  choosing  the  least  of  two  evils. 

I  hope  to  see  you  very  soon.  Thanks  for  your  kind 
and  wise  letter1  of  the  25th  ult.  It  indicated  the  true 
policy,  in  case  we  could  not  have  found  a  good  man  to 
stand  for  the  first  office.  But,  on  the  whole,  we  could 
not  have  had  a  better  man  than  Birney.  He  is  equal 
1  In  Appendix  F,  p.  274. 


[66] 

to  the  other  candidates,  to  say  the  least,  in  all  qualifi 
cations  —  in  heart,  infinitely  superior  to  either.  Our 
friends  in  New  York  all  seem  quite  reconciled.  We 
shall  have  a  small  vote  no  doubt,  but  not  a  despicable 
nor  a  despised  one.  Let  them  come  on  with  their  black 
ball —  we  are  ready  for  it  all  —  the  mud  will  roll  off 
and  leave  its  object  the  brighter.  Abolitionists  who 
have  not  abjured  their  suffrage,  will  now  feel  the  com 
fort  of  a  candidate  who  truly,  in  his  own  flesh  and 
blood,  and  heart  of  hearts,  represents  their  principles. 
I  shall  be  at  home  after  Wednesday  night,  and  hope 
to  see  you  before  the  week  passes  away. 
Yours  for  the  House, 

E.  WRIGHT,  JR. 


To   HIS   SISTER   ELIZABETH 

Philadelphia,  ^th  $th  mo.  1840. 
DEAR  SISTER  : 

I  am  now  writing  at  friend  Wendell's.  I  ar 
rived  at  New  York  safely,  stopped  at  Isaac  Pierce's 
until  3rd  day  of  the  week,  then  came  on  to  Philad'1  ' — 
had  a  very  fatiguing  ride  —  and  have  been  somewhat 
unwell,  but  am  now  about  as  usual. 

Cousin  Isaac  is  quite  unwell,  has  been  very  much 
so,  but  is  better.  Mary  J.  is  also  unwell — but  can 
teaze  as  well  as  ever.  Ann  is  still  improving  in  health. 
I  have  seen  the  Lloyds,  Nicholsons,  etc.  They  all 
speak  a  great  deal  of  thee.  Henry  Peterson  called  on 
me  the  next  day  after  my  arrival  —  enquired  about  thee. 

James  Mott  and  L[ucretia],  Sarah  Pugh,  Mary 
Grew,2  Elizabeth  J.  Neall,  Abby  Kimber,  *nd  per  baps 
C.  C.  Burleigh  go  on  the  7^ 

Only  think  of  it.  H.  B.  Stanton4  it  is  rumored, 

1  To  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Anti-Slavery  Society. 
2  ««  She  did  the  work  she  found  to  do,  — 
A  Christian  hero,  Mary  Grew." 

"How  Mary  Grew/'  Poems,  207. 

3  Delegates  from   the   Pennsylvania  Anti-Slavery  Society  to  the 
World's  Anti-Slavery  Convention  at  London,  where  all  refrained  from 
taking  part  because  on  their  arrival  the  women  were  denied  recognition 
as  delegates.  Joseph  Sturge  had  intimated  that  such  might  be  the  result, 
if  women  were  appointed.    Hallowell,  Mott,    146,  and   Garrison, 

«»  353- 

4  Stanton  married  Elizabeth  Cady,  May  I,  1840,  and  sailed  May 

1 2th  for  London  as  a  delegate  from  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society 
of  New  York. 


[68] 

will  get  married  and  go   out  with    his   woman  to 
Europe  ! 

I  have  T)een  sorely  tempted  to  go  to  England  — 
but  I  have  not  dared  to  act  against  my  better  judg 
ment.  My  health  I  do  not  think  will  be  equal  to  such 
a  task  —  and  so  I  have  notified  the  Committee  to  find 
a  substitute  for  me.  C.  C.  B.  will  perhaps  go.  I  shall 
be  out  of  the  City  in  Bucks  in  a  few  days.  Have  seen 
R.  [or  P.]  Sanborn,  Mary  Needles,  and  all  send  their 
best  love  to  thee. 

I  saw  D.  Breed  in  N.  Y.  —  is  well  and  enquired  par 
ticularly  about  thee. 

Stanton  wants  the  poetry  thee  promised  him.  I 
dined  yesterday  with  Ruth  Barrett — Wm'8  mother. 
She  is  distressed  at  the  idea  of  his  leaving  the  Society 
—  it  is  a  hard  [blow]  for  her. 

Ann,  Margaret,  and  Mary  and  all  here  wish  me  to 
give  their  best  love.  Marg!  is  sick,  or  would  write. 

Excuse  this  hasty  scrawl ;  I  have  penned  it  in  great 
haste. 

Love  to  Mother  and  Aunt  Mercy  and  to  all. 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


From  JOSEPH   STURGE1 

DEAR  FRIEND: 

Though  we  are  personally  unknown  to  each 
other  I  am  about  to  open  my  mind  to  thee  as  to  a  very 
old  and  intimate  friend.  I  am  seriously  intending  to 
pay  a  private  visit  to  America  for  a  few  weeks  or  per 
haps  months,  principally  with  the  following  objects ; 
to  promote  an  entire  unity  of  action  and  cooperation 
between  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti  Slavery  Society 
and  the  American  and  Foreign  Anti  Slavery  Society, 
including  all  that  will  act  upon  our  principles  and  not 
mix  up  other  truths  with  it;  to  ascertain  the  feeling  and 
judgment  of  our  sound  American  Friends  as  to  the 
propriety  of  holding  any  future  Convention,  and  if 
they  are  in  favor  of  it,  when  and  where  it  should  be 
held;  to  tte  privately  if  there  are  any  means  of  remov 
ing  the  objections  which  have  hitherto  prevented  our 
American  Friends  from  taking  part  in  the  movements 
of  Anti  Slavery  Societies,  provided  they  are  both  in  the 
ory  and  practise  kept  entirely  distinct  from  all  other 
matters,  apart  and  distinct  from  the  Anti  Slavery  object 
I  mean ;  also  to  take  the  opportunity  of  ascertaining, 
as  I  go  along,  what  elements  there  are  in  America  for 

1  Joseph  Sturge  (1793-1859),  a  successful  merchant  of  Birming 
ham,  England,  a  Quaker  and  a  philanthropist,  founded  the  British  and 
Foreign  Anti-Slavery  Society.  On  his  return  to  England  from  his  jour 
ney  he  published  A  Visit  to  the  United  States  in  1841,  in  which 
Whittier's  name  frequently  occurs,  though  through  ill  health  he  could 
not  be  with  Sturge  the  entire  time. 


[70] 

holding  at  a  future  period  a  conference  of  nations  for 
the  formation  of  permanent  and  universal  peace. 

My  intention  is  to  avoid  altogether  appearing  and 
especially  speaking  in  public  (for  which  latter  I  am 
quite  unqualified,  if  there  was  no  other  objection),  but 
to  meet  in  private  parties  the  persons  who  may  most 
be  depended  upon  for  properly  working  our  cause. 
The  earliest  time  I  look  to  leaving  England  is  by 
the  British  Queen  on  the  ioth  of  next  month,  and  if 
I  go  at  all,  which  is  yet  very  uncertain,  I  may  not  go 
till  near  a  month  later. 

Now  thou  wilt  see  that  on  such  an  expedition  I 
shall  want  a  companion,  uniting  with  my  views  and 
with  a  pretty  general  knowledge  of  the  individual 
character  and  standing,  both  of  the  abolitionists  and 
the  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  your  land, 
and  I  write  to  ask  thee  to  be  kind  enough  to  be  that 
companion,  of  course  allowing  me  to  pay  every  kind 
of  expense  etc.,  to  which  such  a  journey  might  sub 
ject  thee. 

At  all  events  allow  me  to  press  upon  thee  that  in 
the  event  of  my  writing  thee  by  the  next  Boston  Steam 
Packet  to  say  I  am  arriving  by  the  British  ghteen,  thou 
wilt  be  kind  enough  to  be  in  New  York  to  meet  me 
to  give  me  thy  advice  and  council,  and  if  our  friends 
there  should  unite  in  opinion  that  it  will  be  [well]  for 
thee  to  accompany  me,  thou  wilt  feel  it  a  duty  from 
which  thou  canst  not  feel  excused.  I  am  aware  that 
thy  health  may  appear  to  thee  to  be  a  sufficient  objec 
tion,  and  if  it  is,  this  is  a  point  upon  which  I  cannot 
of  course  say  a  word  to  urge  thee  beyond  thy  strength, 
but  I  am  not  without  hopes  that  the  journey  might  be 
of  service  to  thee  in  this  respect. 


I  am  rather  anxious  my  journey,  and  especially  the 
precious  objects  of  it,  should  not  be  known  at  present. 
But  I  find  it  is  already  known  here,  more  than  I  could 
wish,  and  there  is  a  Friend  of  the  name  of  Morris  from 
Philadelphia  who  goes  by  the  President,  who  will 
probably  mention  the  fact  of  my  intention  to  go  to 
America.  But  if  I  write  any  other  letter  by  this  Packet 
it  will  be  only  a  few  lines  in  strict  confidence  to  one 
of  our  New  York  Friends  and  without  telling  him  that 
I  have  made  any  communication  to  thee.  Thou  wilt 
please  to  clearly  understand  I  mean  to  come  without 
any  credentials  or  the  representative  of  any  body, 
simply  as  a  private  individual;  my  reason  for  this  I 
can  more  fully  explain  if  we  meet. 

Very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 

JOSEPH  STURGE ' 

Birmingham,  2/9,  1841. 

1   "  Tender  as  a  woman,  manliness  and  meekness 

In  him  were  so  allied 
That  they  who  judged  him  by  his  strength  or  weakness 

Saw  but  a  single  side. 
Men  failed,  betrayed  him,  but  his  zeal  seemed  nourished 

By  failure  and  by  fall ; 
Still  a  large  faith  in  human-kind  he  cherished, 

And  in  God's  love  for  all." 
"In  Remembrance  of  Joseph  Sturge,"  Poems,  199. 


From   CALEB   GUSHING 

Washington*  n  March.  1841. 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  have  yours  of  the  2nd  and  24th  February. 
You  saw  by  the  Atlas  *  that  I  declined  being  a  candi 
date  for  the  Senate.  To  this  end,  I  was  partly  impelled 
by  the  reasons  which  I  have  stated  to  you ;  and  partly 
by  others.  I  did  not  wish  to  be  the  cause  of  any  di 
vision  among  the  Whigs  in  the  Legislature.  Above 
all,  I  did  not  desire  anything  from  them,  unless  it  were 
a  spontaneous,  united,  free-will  offering,  for  public  con 
siderations  and  objects.  And  such  an  act  there  was 
little  cause  to  expect  from  a  Legislature  which  had 
already  thrown  away  the  power  of  the  State,  and  totally 
disregarded  its  interests  and  influence,  out  of  personal 
favor  to  Mr.  Bates,2  and  personal  favor  founded  on  it 
is  hardly  known  what.  Besides  which,  when  Mr.  Choate 
came  to  be  talked  of,  he  being  of  the  time  of  life  and 
possessing  the  qualifications  to  enable  him  (if  he  chooses 

1  The  editor  of  the  Atlas,  Feb.  16,  1841,  after  quoting  from  an 
editorial  in  the  Boston  Advertiser  to  the  effect  that  Gushing  was  needed 
in  the  House,  said:  —  "  We  are  authorized  to  say  that  Mr.  Gushing 
does  not  wish  to  be  considered  as  a  candidate  to  supply  the  vacancy. 
His  great  talents,  extensive  learning  and  valuable  services  are  fully  ap 
preciated  by  his  political  friends." 

a  Isaac  Chapman  Bates  of  Northampton  had  been  elected  U.  S. 
Senator  Jan.  13,  1841,  to  succeed  John  Davis  of  Worcester,  who 
had  resigned  as  Senator  on  being  elected  Governor  of  Massachusetts. 
Webster's  resignation  took  effect  Feb.  22,  and  Rufus  Choate  was 
elected  to  succeed  him  Feb.  24,  1841. 


[73] 

to  exert  himself)  to  do  credit  and  good  service  to  the 
State,  I  was  the  more  content  to  leave  the  question 
unembarrassed  by  any  interests  of  my  own. 

I  have  also  positively  declined  any  employment 
abroad,  in  order  to  work  out  faithfully  my  term  of 
service  in  the  2yth  Congress,  in  which  there  is  much 
to  be  done,  and  I  think  I  may  be  of  use  to  the  coun 
try,  without  impairing  in  any  degree  my  pretensions 
to  office,  if  I  should  then  desire  to  obtain  it.  These 
determinations  place  me  in  a  position  of  independence 
here,  which  has  many  advantages. 

And  now,  for  the  other  topics  of  your  letters,  a  few 
words :  I  do  not  believe  there  will  be  any  general  pro 
scription.  I  do  not  believe  that  removals  will  be  made 
without  due  consideration  of  the  circumstances  of  each 
case.  In  regard  to  the  Post  Offices,  I  shall  have  to  act 
in  deference,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  judgment  of  each 
community.  I  have  as  yet  heard  nothing  from  Ames- 
bury  and  shall  not  do  anything  of  my  own  motion. 
There  is  much  conflict  of  interests  at  Haverhill,  and  I 
cannot  yet  decide  what  to  do ;  but  if  it  is  impracticable 
to  place  Mr.  T[hayer]  there,  I  undertake  to  do  my  ut 
most  to  provide  for  him  in  some  way. 

I  am,  very  faithfully,  yours, 

C.  GUSHING 


From  HIS  BROTHER  FRANKLIN 

Portland,  June  30,  1841. 
MY  DEAR  BROTHER: 

.  .  .  The  great  temperance  convention  com 
menced  its  session  here  to  day  and  will  probably  con 
tinue  several  days.  I  see  among  the  arrivals  last  night 
and  this  morning  Hawkins  "  the  reformed  drunkard," 
Rev.  Mr.  Colver  and  several  others  from  Boston  and 
New  York. 

I  wrote  to  sister  Mary  some  time  since,  respecting 
the  discussion  on  slavery  which  came  off  here  a  few 
weeks  ago. 

Since  then  John  Neal '  has  published  a  long  state 
ment  of  the  affair,  occupying  half  the  collums  of  the 
Daily  Advertiser  for  nearly  a  week.  He  was  pleased 
to  term  it  a  fair  and  impartial  digest  of  the  whole  mat 
ter,  but  in  all  his  long  array  of  words,  when  there  was 
any  fault  at  all,  notwithstanding  one  or  two  pretended 
thrusts  at  the  Georgian,  his  sympathies  (i.e.  if  that  is  a 
propper  term  in  speaking  of  John  Neal)  were  "  like  the 
handle  of  a  jug,  all  on  one  side/'  But  his  labors  will 
do  no  harm,  inasmuch  as  not  one  in  ten  can  come  to 
any  conclusion  in  this,  and  most  of  his  other  produc 
tions,  as  to  what  he  "  would  be  driving  at." 

Nat  Dearing  ("Old  Nat,"  as  he  is  called  here)  once 

said  in  reply  to  an  article  of  NeaFs,  published  in  the 

New  World,  entitled  "  Portland  Writers  "  :— "  Some  of 

our  best  writers  in  saying  many  good  things  do  oc- 

1  Appendix  G,  p.  276. 


[75] 

casionally  by  accident  say  foolish  things.  But  with  Mr. 
Neal  this  is  reversed.  He  never  talks  or  writes  com 
mon  sense  save  by  accident."  And  in  the  same  con 
nection,  speaking  of  what  John  terms  his  "throwing 
off"  style,  he  says  John  Neal  is  "afflicted  with  a  literary 
diarrhoea"  In  the  production  alluded  to,  his  wander 
ing,  pointless  style  is  very  conspicuous.  .  .  . 
Again  good  bye. 

M.  F.  WHITTIER. 


From   CALEB   GUSHING 

Washington,  17  July,  1841. 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  duly  received  yours  of  the  26th  June  in  be 
half  of  Mr.  Sewall.1  I  have  also  had  correspondence 
with  Mr.  S.  himself  and  with  Mr.  Fletcher a  on  the 
subject.  There  is  not  a  better  man,  or  a  better  lawyer, 
than  Mr.  S.  in  Massachusetts.  But  the  appointment 
has  been  long  since  destined  to  Mr.  Peleg  Sprague.3 
I  do  not  know  how  far  Mr.  Sewall's  anti-slavery 
opinions  would  have  stood  in  his  way  with  the  Presi 
dent.  They  could  not  have  prevented  my  testifying  to 

1  Sewall,  Whittier's  friend,  was  a  candidate  for  U.  S.  Judge  for  the 
District  of  Massachusetts. 

"  Like  that  ancestral  judge  who  bore  his  name, 

Faithful  to  Freedom  and  to  Truth,  he  gave, 
When  all  the  air  was  hot  with  wrath  and  blame, 
His  youth  and  manhood  to  the  fettered  slave." 

"Samuel  E.  Sewall,"  Poems,  516. 

»  Richard  Fletcher  (1788-1869),  Dartmouth,  1806;  studied  law 
with  Webster;  member  of  Congress  from  Massachusetts,  1837-1839; 
Justice  of  the  Mass.  Supreme  Court,  1848-1853.  He  bequeathed 
$100,000  to  Dartmouth  College. 

3  Peleg  Sprague  served  as  Judge  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts, 
1841  to  1865.  He  was  the  orator  in  Faneuil  Hall  to  whom  Whittier 
referred  in  his  open  letter  to  Governor  Everett  in  the  Liberator ',  Feb 
ruary  20,  1836:  "I  know  that  he  [Washington]  was  a  slave  holder, 
and  I  have  not  forgotten  the  emotions  which  swelled  my  bosom  when  in 
the  Metropolis  of  New  England,  the  Cradle  of  Liberty,  a  degenerate 
son  of  the  Pilgrims  pointed  to  his  portrait,  which  adorned  the  wall, 
with  the  thrice  repeated  exclamation,  '  That  slave  holder  '  .  .  .  Did 
not  the  speaker  know  that  the  dying  testimony  of  Washington  was 
against  slavery  ? ' ' 


[77] 

his  high  character  and  attainments.  But  those  opinions 
would  have  stopped  him  in  the  Senate,  in  which  the 
singular  fact  now  exists  of  Northern  V.  B.1  men  play 
ing  into  the  hands  of  Southern  Adm.  men,  by  minis 
tering  to  their  slavery  tenor,  as  in  regard  to  various 
nominees  before  them.  I  know  not  what  may  be  the 
ultimate  effect  of  the  anti-slavery  agitation  on  the  in 
terests  of  the  North ;  its  present  effect  is  most  disas 
trous  to  us  in  a  multitude  of  ways.  This  much  is  too 
plain  to  be  mistaken. 

I  wrote  to  Gov.  Lincoln  at  your  request  in  behalf 
of  Mr.  Worthen;  but,  I  fear,  without  much  prospect 
of  success.  Mr.  Choate  and  I  are  cooperating  to  obtain 
for  Mr.  Thayer  a  $900  office,  in  which  I  think  we  shall 
succeed.  If  (as  I  hope)  we  can  be  together  in  Essex  after 
the  close  of  the  Session,  I  shall  rejoice  to  cooperate  in 
our  Merrimac  enterprise  at  that  time.  For  the  year  past, 
I  have  no  time  for  other  thoughts  than  my  public  duties; 
but  I  anticipate  a  breathing  space  the  coming  autumn. 

I  regretted  the  necessity  of  acceding  to  the  removal 
of  your  friend  Mr.  Nayson.  But  the  representations 
on  the  subject  were  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  Add  to 
which,  I  was  not  unwilling  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
providing  for  an  old  friend  of  my  youth,  to  whom  for 
tune  had  not  been  kind,  Mr.  Walsh's 2  father  having 
fitted  me  for  college,  and  John  himself  having  taken 
care  of  me  as  a  college  friend,  during  my  first  year  at 
Cambridge. 

I  am  very  truly  yours, 

C.  GUSHING. 

MR.  WHITTIER. 

1  Van  Buren. 

*  John  Walsh,  Harvard  College,  1814,    died  1845.    His  father 
Michael  was  a  teacher  in  the  Marblehead  Academy. 


[78] 

P.  S.  Party  politics  were  never  in  a  more  uncertain 
state,  and  no  man  here  knows  for  a  surety,  what  his 
own  position  will  be  for  three  months  ahead.  In  such 
circumstances,  one  must  do  what  is  right,  disregard ful 
of  consequences.  I  do  not  see  my  way  clearly  to  the 
end,  but  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  two  things, 
whatever  happens,  and  that  is,  in  weakness  to  look  to 
the  interests  of  my  constituents,  and  in  men  to  stick  to 
my  private  friends,  in  preference  to  precarious  party 
considerations. 


LIBERTY   PARTY    PETITION1 

Amesbury,  loth  Aug.  1841. 

To  THE  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  LIBERTY  PARTY 

COMMITTEE 
DEAR  BROTHER: 

The  undersigned,  in  common  with  many 
others  in  this  section  of  the  State,  are  desirous  that 
a  General  Convention  of  the  voting 2  abolitionists  of 
Massachusetts  should  be  held  at  as  early  a  day  as  may 
be  practicable,  at  Worcester  or  some  other  central 
location,  for  the  purpose  of  calling  out  a  deeper  and 
stronger  feeling  than  now  seems  to  exist  in  favor  of 
Liberty  at  the  Ballot-box.  They  would  respectfully 
suggest  the  expediency  of  calling  such  a  Convention, 
on  the  part  of  your  Committee,  with  the  understand 
ing  that  the  nominations  now  made  by  that  Committee, 
be  held  subject  to  the  decision  and  disposal  of  the 
Convention.  Let  us  rally  as  one  man  to  that  meeting, 
from  every  section  of  the  good  old  Commonwealth, 
and  let  measures  be  taken  to  secure  the  attendance 
of  such  men  as  W™  Goodell,  Joshua  Leavitt,  Alvan 
Stewart,  Beriah  Green  and  Henry  B.  Stanton,3  and 

1  Written  by  Whittier. 

2  As  distinguished  from  those  who  refrained,  because  by  voting  they 
would  recognize  the  Constitution. 

3  ««  For  many  years  an  influence  in  behalf  of  the  slave  radiated  from 
the  central  counties  of  New  York,  which  was  felt  beyond  the  borders 
of  the  State.    It  was  largely  due  to  four  men,  quite  unlike  in  salient 
characteristics,  though  each  was  remarkable  in  his  sphere.   They  were 


[8o] 

may  we  not  hope  that  in  our  own  State,  those  who  have 
not  hitherto  acted  with  us,  —  the  Lorings,the  Phillips, 
and  Jacksons  —  will  be  ready  to  join  us  in  lifting  up 
the  pure  and  democratic  standard  of  Political  Anti- 
Slavery. 

Yr  friend. 

acute  reasoners,  ready  writers,  and  never  quailed  before  work.  Those 
who  witnessed  the  majestic  eloquence  of  Gerrit  Smith,  the  quaint  hu 
mor  and  pathetic  appeals  of  Alvan  Stewart,  the  luminous  logic  and 
merciless  sarcasm  of  Beriah  Green,  and  the  instructive  disquisitions 
and  pointed  periods  of  William  Goodell,  will  regard  this  as  a  just 
tribute  to  their  abilities  and  services." 

Henry  B.  Stanton,  Random  Recollections,  65. 

Joshua  Leavitt  was  editor  of  the  Boston  Emancipator.  He  had  been 
with  Stanton  an  associate  of  Whittier's  in  the  office  of  the  American 
Anti-Slavery  Society  in  New  York  in  1837. 


From   CALEB   GUSHING 

Washington,  4  Sept.  1841. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  have  your  two  letters  and  will  reply  at  length 
tomorrow.  I  was  unable  to  do  anything  for  Mr.  Thayer ' 
in  the  Haverhill  P.  O.,  there  being  a  strong  remon 
strance  against  him  and  the  appointment  having  been 
decided  by  the  P.  M.  G.  upon  the  documents,  in  which 
I  could  but  acquiesce.  Meanwhile,  I  have  a  good  hope 
of  securing  provision  for  him  in  an  office,  the  disposal 
of  which  has  been  promised  to  me.  But  the  infinite 
variety  of  such  questions  cannot  be  decided  in  a  day, 
amidst  the  other  all  absorbing  matters  in  agitation  here. 
Today  I  have  received  a  no.  of  the  Northampton 
Courier,  containing  a  threat  from  him.  Can  I  procure 
him  an  office  under  a  threat,  judge  you?  He  has  so 
many  times,  in  writing  and  in  print  professed  to  have 
buried  the  hatchet,  that  I  have  in  good  faith  exerted 
myself  in  his  behalf,  and  with  every  prospect  of  speedy 
success.  What  is  it  just  and  proper  for  me  to  do  under 
the  circumstances?  As  you  have  interested  yourself 
in  his  behalf,  pray  advise  me.  It  is  his  interest,  not 
mine,  which  is  at  stake,  for  in  the  whirlwind  which  is 
coming,  newspaper  obloquy,  founded  on  old  personal 
grudges,  will  go  for  little  among  the  other  greater  ele 
ments  of  confusion  and  discord .  I  suppose  there  must  be 
some  letter  of  his  which  I  have  not  answered,  but  it  is 
physically  impossible  for  me  to  answer,  until  the  close 
of  the  session,  one  fourth  part  of  the  letters  I  receive. 
I  am,  very  faithfully,  yours, 

C.  CUSHING. 

1  Thayer  in  1832,  when  editor  of  the  Haverhill  Gazette,  had 
opposed  Gushing. 


From    HIS    BROTHER   FRANKLIN 

Portland,  June  ijtb  1842. 
DEAR  BROTHER: 

.  .  .  My  good  friend.  Doer.  Illsly  of  the 
Portland  Transcript,  asked  me  some  months  ago, 
when  I  wrote,  to  request  thee  to  do  him  the  very  great 
favor  of  sending  him  one  or  two  articles  for  his  paper. 
He  would  (I  may  as  well  tell  thee)  want  to  publish 
them  in  manner  and  form  as  follows — "  Written  for 
the  Transcript  by  J.  G.  Whittier."  The  poor  fellow 
is  rather  hard  pushed  just  now,  as  a  new  rival  paper 
under  the  patronage  of  D.  C.  Colesworthy,  S.  B. 
Beckett  and  John  Neal,  has  been  started  for  the  ex 
press  purpose  of  running  the  Transcript  down.  They 
have  got  Cutter  as  a  contributor  and,  I  believe,  In- 
graham.  I  told  him  thy  time  was,  I  supposed,  pretty 
well  taken  up,  —  but  if  thee  could  spare  the  Doctor  a 
small  lift  it  would  be  rather  a  deed  of  charity.  Any 
thing  would  be  gratefully  received,  prose  or  poetry. 
.  .  .  Nathan  has  had  one  or  two  Anti-everything 
Meetings  lately.  At  which  the  somewhat  mystical 
tends  of  that  respectable  Society  were  duly  set  forth, 
illuminated  by  its  Chief  Priest,  Henry  C.  Wright. 
They  could  get  no  house  but  the  Casco  St.  Chapel, 
though  they  tried  several  others.  Nathan  was  very 
busy  running  about  to  the  various  church  commit 
tees,  and  on  being  refused,  not  only  shook  off  the 
dust  of  his  shoes  as  a  testimony  against  them,  but  in 
his  usual  bland  manner  remonstrated  with  the  obsti- 


[83  ] 

nate  committees,  and  in  a  voice  bearing  a  strong  re 
semblance  to  the  noise  made  by  a  heavy  iron  door  turn 
ing  very  slowly  on  unoiled  hinges,  expressed  as  his  firm 
conviction  that  the  ministers  were  " dumb  do?s,  Satan's 

O      ' 

high  priests  &c.  &c.,"  finishing  with  an  earnest  en 
treaty  that  they,  in  company  with  the  aforesaid  com 
mittee,  would  with  all  possible  dispatch  "go  straight 
way  to  the  D 1" !  .  .  . 

Affectionately  Good  bye 

M.  F.  WHITTIER. 


From  JAMES   RUSSELL   LOWELL 

Boston,  Deer.  16,  1842. 

No.  4,  Court  St. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

Some  weeks  ago  I  wrote  to  ask  you  for  a  poem 
to  print  in  my  new  magazine.1  I  have  had  no  answer 
from  you,  nor  heard  from  you  except  through  the 
Democratic  Review  and  Mr.  Allen  of  Worcester. 

I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  give  me  something.  At 
any  rate,  send  me  word  in  some  way  that  I  may  know 
in  time  for  my  second  number.  I  like  your  poem 
"Raphael"3  very  much  indeed,  perhaps  better  in 
some  ways  than  any  poem  of  yours.  I  do  not  mean 
that  it  is  better  in  its  kind  —  but  that  its  kind  is 

1  The  Pioneer,  a  monthly  magazine,  edited  by  J.  R.  Lowell  and 
R.  Carter.  But  three  issues  appeared,  Jan.,  Feb.,  and  March,  1843. 
Among  the  contributors  were  Hawthorne,  Elizabeth  Barrett  (Brown 
ing),  Poe,  Jones  Very  and  W.  W.  Story.  Whittier  contributed  to 
the  February  number,  "Lines  Written  in  the  Book  of  a  Friend," 
Poems,  388  : — 

"  On  page  of  thine  I  can  not  trace 
The  cold  and  heartless  commonplace  "  — 

not  "  To  a  Friend  on  her  Return  from  Europe,"  as  stated  in  Pickard, 
Wbittier,  289,  where  is  given  Lowell's  letter  of  October,  mentioned 
above,  in  which  he  outlined  his  plans  for  this  venture,  which  was  so 
short-lived. 

a  "  Raphael,"  Poems,  389,  had  just  appeared  in  the  United  States 
Magazine  and  Democratic  Review  for  December.  "  Pollen,"  Poems, 
175,  was  in  the  March  number  and  "The  Gallows,"  Poems,  352, 
in  that  for  October.  These  three  were  the  only  poems  by  Whittier 
published  in  1842. 


[85] 

pleasanter  to  me.  But  I  like  the  others  better  after  all, 
for  the  noble  causes  they  have  always  espoused. 
Whatever  you  do,  God  be  with  you ! 

Your  friend  in  truth, 

J.  R.  LOWELL. 

P.  S.  I  don't  care  if  the  poem  be  anti-slavery,  it 
will  be  as  welcome  —  though  the  main  scope  of  my 
magazine  at  present  is  literary. 


From    HENRY    B.    STANTON ' 

Boston  Feby.  3,  1844. 
DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  am  glad,  upon  the  whole,  that  the  contest  in 
No.  5  is  Ended.  Sorry  to  hear  the  Essex  Transcript 
(you  ?)  talk  about  giving  from  1500  to  2000  votes  in 
No  5  next  fall.  Why,  you  can  and  must  give  2500, 
without  fail.  If  we  take  hold  of  the  work  with  the 
energy  of  the  New  Yorkers,  we  can  and  shall  do  this. 
But,  about  our  State  Convention ;  we  are  relying 
on  you  to  draft  the  resolutions.  No  failure,  John  ! 
Let  them  be  candid  but  strong.  We  must  be  impar 
tial,  too,  as  between  the  parties.  To  the  masses,  our 
resolves  and  newspaper  articles,  look  rather  Anti- 
Whiggish. 

1  F.  H.  Underwood,  who  seems  to  have  obtained  from  Whittier 
himself  many  facts  for  his  Sketch  of  Whittier,  says  that  during  the  four 
or  five  years  after  the  removal  to  Amesbury,  Stanton  was  Whittier' s 
most  intimate  friend  and  colaborer,  and  that  they  were  "  great  lobby 
workers"  at  the  State  House.  He  quotes  a  phrase  from  a  letter  of 
Wendell  Phillips  that  Whittier  was  "  a  great  hand  at  it." 

It  was  to  Stanton  that  Whittier  dedicated  his  poems,  printed  in 
1838,  "  as  a  token  of  the  author's  personal  friendship  and  of  his  re 
spect  for  the  unswerved  devotion  of  exalted  talents  to  the  cause  of 
humanity  and  freedom." 

Stanton  left  this  pleasing  account  of  Whittier  :  "In  the  dozen  years 
following  1 8  3  5  I  spent  many  months  in  his  company,  and  travelled 
with  him  hundreds  of  miles  in  eight  or  ten  states.  Only  those  who  know 
my  shy  friend  well,  are  aware  how  talkative,  genial,  witty  and  humor 
ous,  sarcastic  and  entertaining  he  is  in  bright  hours  with  two  or  three 
companions."  Stanton,  Random  Recollections. 


Make  a  tremendous  noise  in  the  next  Transcript1 
about  the  State  Convention.  Call  more  special  atten 
tion  to  it.  Why,  I  do  not  believe  half  the  readers  of 
your  paper  could  now  tell  the  time  when  the  conven 
tion  is  to  meet,  to  save  themselves.  We  are  confi 
dently  expecting  that  [Alvan]  Stewart  or  [Gerrit] 
Smith,  or  both,  will  be  with  us.  Our  day  meetings 
will  be  held  in  the  Tremont  Temple  and  our  evening 
meetings  in  Faneuil  Hall,  and  the  State  House.  We 
shall  have  choice  singing,  and  a  splendid  tea-party. 
Then  huzzah  for  the  Convention  !  We  need  a  large 
meeting  just  now.  We  must  strike  out  plans  for  mov 
ing  the  State  to  its  very  mud  sills  this  year.  We  must 
have  employed  by  our  State  Committee,  one  excel 
lent,  able  agent,  to  plan,  lecture,  get  up  conventions, 
and  set  the  Commonwealth  on  fire.  And,  to  arrange 
all  these  matters,  we  must  have  a  great  Convention, 
and  talk  these  things  into  the  gizzards  of  our  leading 
men.  Then  blow  the  trumpet  long  and  loud  in  the 
next  Transcript. 

Remember  me  most  kindly  to  your  mother  and 
sister  and  believe  me 

Yours  ever  and  ever, 

H.  B.  STANTON. 

N.  B.  I  have  to  lecture  before  the  Beverly  Lyceum 
the  evening  before  the  Convention,  and  before  the 
Newburyport  Lyceum  the  evening  after. 

1  "Whittier  persuaded  the  proprietor  of  the  Amesbury  Village 
Transcript  to  change  its  name  to  the  Essex  Transcript,  and  to  make 
it  the  county  organ  of  the  Liberty  party.  For  about  two  years  he  vir 
tually  edited  the  Transcript ,  writing  most  of  the  original  matter  it  con 
tained,  although  his  name  does  not  appear  in  it,  and  his  service  was 
entirely  gratuitous. "  Pickard,  Whittier,  303. 


From    HIS    BROTHER    FRANKLIN 

Portland,  Feb.  ij/^,  1844. 


MY  DEAR  BROTHER: 

...  I  send  thee  by  same  mail  as  this,  the  last 
number  of"  Martin  Chuzzlewit."  It  is,  I  think,  the 
best  one  which  has  yet  appeared.  "  The  Native  Amer 
ican  raw  material"  and  the  "American  Eagle"  are 
very  happily  treated.  I  always  liked  Dickens'  works, 
but  since  he  has  had  the  boldness  to  attack  our  foolish 
vanity,  maugre  the  stuffing  and  feasting  they  gave  him, 
he  has  risen  much  in  my  estimation.  When  I  have 
heard  the  boastful  language  of  our  sixpenny  newspa 
pers,  and  seen  the  absurd  worship  bestowed  upon  the 
memory  of  Washington,  I  have  always  felt  that  sensi 
ble  foreigners  must  be  disgusted  with  us.  We  are  per 
haps  passable,  and  Washington  may  have  done  as  well 
as  another  placed  in  his  situation  would,  but  that  is 
the  end  of  the  matter.  He  was  not  a  God  and  we  are 
not  angels. 

Week  before  last  C.  C.  Burleigh  '  lectured  before 
the  Portland  Anti-Slavery  Society  twice,  in  the  after 
noon  and  evening.  In  the  afternoon  his  audience  was 
limited,  being  made  up  of  Oliver  Dennett,  Peter  Mor- 
rill,  their  wives,  a  slight  sprinkling  of  Appletons, 

1  '«  Charles  C.  Burleigh  was  a  vehement  orator  of  rare  logical  gifts. 
He  traversed  the  county,  delivering  Anti-slavery  lectures.  He  dressed 
like  a  tramp.  In  the  Anti-slavery  office  in  New  York  we  once  tore  a 
shabby  coat  off  his  shoulders,  vowing  that  he  should  not  represent  the 
society  in  such  a  vile  garb.  John  G.  Whittier  took  a  hand  in  this  per 
formance."  Stanton,  Random  Recollections,  71. 


Nathan,  myself  and  some  6  or  8  unsoaped  boys.  And 
very  dim  and  shadowy  we  looked  scattered  over  the 
vast  hall  in  the  Exchange.  Bolt-upright  near  the  centre 
towered  the  huge  form  of  Oliver;  at  his  left  sat  Peter, 
his  mottled  face  looking  more  mottled  still  in  the 
variegated  light  from  the  dome,  and  their  two  good 
looking  wives,  in  sad  coloured  hoods,  pursing  up  their 
mouths  in  a  manner  beautiful  to  behold,  —  Nathan 
and  I  somewhat  uneasy,  but  wearing  our  hats  for  a 
testimony.  The  boys  filled  the  back  ground,  while 
through  the  half  opened  door  "a  nigger's"  head 
peered  awfully,  big  and  large.  It  was  an  impressive 
tableaux. 

And  the  speaker,  I  had  never  seen  him  before,  and 
my  first  impressions  were  not  very  favorable.  His  hair 
was  long  and  yellow  and  hung  in  festoons  over  his 
shoulders,  his  whiskers  were  red  and  tied  under  his 
chin,  he  wore  no  cravat,  his  throat  was  scragley,  his  coat 
and  cap  were  in  a  shocking  state,  his  eyes  were  wild, 
his  shirt  bosom  and  wristbands  greasy,  and  altogether 
he  looked  like  a  cross  between  an  Arkansas  desperado 
and  a  decayed  loafer  of  our  Eastern  cities.1  But  he 

1  Mrs.  Claflin,  Reminiscences,  45,  says  that  Whittier,  who  was  a 
friend  of  all  the  men  named,  used  to  take  great  delight  in  telling  this 
story  :  — 

"  In  the  stormy  days  when  every  Abolitionist  was  a  marked  man, 
an  important  meeting  was  held  in  New  York.  Among  the  speakers 
on  the  platform  sat  Garrison,  with  his  shining  bald  head,  and  C.  C. 
Burleigh,  whose  ample  locks  fell  down  his  shoulders  in  true  poetic 
fashion,  while  above  them  all  towered  the  massive  head  of  Fred 
Douglas,  the  colored  orator.  As  usual  the  proceedings  were  greatly 
disturbed  by  the  rioters  ;  but  in  a  temporary  lull  which  chanced  to 
occur,  a  high-pitched  voice  was  heard  crying,  «  Mr.  Chairman,  one 
word,  Mr.  Chairman.  I  have  a  proposition  to  make  that  will  restore 
order.'  'What  is  your  proposition,'  quickly  replied  the  chairman, 


[90] 

spoke  well,  and  what  he  lacked  in  appearance  was  in 
some  sort  made  up  in  his  language.  In  the  evening 
the  attendance  was  larger.  .  .  . 

Affectionately  thy  Brother, 

M.   F.  WHITTIER. 

'Let  us  have  it.'  'Let  that  nigger  there  shave  Burleigh  and  make 
a  wig  for  Garrison  and  all  differences  will  be  settled.' 

"  Strange  to  say,  when  the  audience  recovered  from  bursts  of  laughter, 
order  was  restored  and  the  speakers  proceeded  without  interruption." 


From    HENRY   B.    STANTON 

Boston,  July  20/44. 
DEAR  WHITTIER: 

I  have  heard  from  Gerrit  Smith.  He  deeply 
regrets  that  his  business  arrangements  and  obligations 
are  such,  that  he  cannot  be  with  us,  at  Salem,1  on  the 

1  Whittier  was  deeply  interested  in  the  success  of  the  Salem  con 
vention  Aug.  I,  1844.  It  was  for  this  occasion  that  he  wrote  Lowell, 
1 4th  7th  Mo.  1844,  asking  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  of  a  Liberty 
song.  "  Give  me  one  which  shall  be  to  our  cause  what  the  song  of 
Rouget  de  Lisle  was  to  the  French  Republicans.  Such  an  one  as  the 
maiden  may  whisper  in  the 

'  asphodel  flower  fleece 
She  walks  ankle  deep  in,' 

and  the  strong  man  sing  at  his  forge  and  plough.  Think  of  it,  dear  L. , 
and  oblige  me,  and  do  a  great  work  for  holy  liberty,  by  complying 
with  my  request."  Greenslet,  Lowell,  64. 

Of  the  meeting  itself,  all  that  the  Salem  Gazette  of  Aug.  2,  1844, 
said  was  :  "  The  meeting  in  this  city  yesterday,  purporting  to  be  a 
commemoration  of  British  West  India  Emancipation,  was  in  reality  an 
anti-Clay  caucus.  The  unfavorable  state  of  the  weather  in  the  morn 
ing  occasioned  the  transfer  of  the  repast  from  the  open  air  and  where 
it  was  intended  to  be  held,  to  the  old  town  hall." 

Whittier' s  movements  were  a  subject  of  comment  in  the  other  Salem 
paper,  the  Register,  July  25,  1844  : 

''Middlesex  Standard.  — A  new  Liberty  party  paper  under  this 
title  has  just  been  started  in  Lowell.  It  is  to  be  edited  by  John  G. 
Whittier,  the  gentleman  who  wrote  that  eloquent,  truthful  and  beauti 
ful  poetical  eulogium  of  Henry  Clay,  concluding  as  follows  :  — 

'  All  Hail  !  The  hour  is  hastening  on, 
When  vainly  tried  by  Slander's  flame, 
Columbia  shall  behold  her  son 


[9*] 

First.  S.  P.  Chase  of  Cincinnati,  has  just  left  here  for 
home.  I  tried  to  induce  him  to  stay  till  the  First,  but 
the  sickness  of  a  child,  whom  he  left  at  C.  called  him 
home  immediately.  I  have  just  written  a  long  letter  to 
Senator  Morris,  inviting  him,  in  the  name  of  the  State 
Committee  to  visit  Massachusetts  and  spend  some 
time  with  us.  So,  also,  to  Birney,  directed  to  care  of 
Chaplin.  Tho  I  have  no  doubt  both  our  leader-chiefs 
will  respond  to  our  call,  yet  neither  of  them  will  be 
with  us  on  the  First.  So,  you,  Andrews,  Burritt  and 
Elder,  will  have  to  do  the  chief  speaking.  Tou  will 
also  be  expected  to  sing  a  song  with  one  of  the  Miss 
Birds !  Let  us  have  a  rousing  time. 

Now,  Whittier,  for  your  best  advice  on  a  certain 
topic.  I  am  going  to  decide  by  next  fall,  whether  I 
leave  Massachusetts.  Nothing  will  force  me  out  but 
my  health.  I  am  decidedly  better  than  I  was  last  sum 
mer  and  winter,  and  my  hopes  of  overcoming  all  dif 
ficulties  by  care,  are  strengthening.  Yet,  my  rather 
severe  illness  on  the  Fourth  produced  some  slight 
effect  on  my  lungs  —  sufficiently  to  convince  me  that 
I  must  be  careful.  If  I  remain  in  old  Massachusetts,  I 
shall  not  live  in  Boston ;  tho  it  will  be  my  chief  place 
of  business.  Well,  by  living  out  of  the  city,  I  wish 
to  select  such  a  place  of  residence  as  will  combine  as 

Unharmed  without  a  laurel  gone, 

As  from  the  flames  of  Babylon. 

The  angel  guarded  trial  came; 

The  slanderer  shall  be  silent  then, 

His  spell  shall  leave  the  minds  of  men, 

And  higher  glory  wait  upon 

The  Western  patriot's  future  fame.' 

"  The  truthful  breathings  of  his  pure,  youthful  fancy  will  soon  be 
come  historical  facts." 


[93  ] 

many  advantages  as  possible :  such  as,  pleasure,  good 
society,  health,  and  increase  of  business.  I  have  my 
eye  on  three  places,  Salem,  Lowell  and  Dedham.  If 
I  resided  at  either  of  those  places,  I  should  expect  to 
come  in  to  Boston  every  morning  and  go  out  every 
evening,  as  a  general  rule,  Boston  being  my  chief 
business  place.  But,  each  of  those  places  is  a  law- 
center  for  its  County  ;  and,  if  I  should  reside  at  either, 
I  should  there  have  an  office  in  connexion  (probably 
not  in  partnership)  with  some  lawyer,  and  should  pur 
pose,  as  a  general  rule,  to  be  there  every  evening  and 
occasionally  part  of  an  afternoon  to  be  consulted  and 
do  business ;  still  making  Boston  my  main  business 
stand.  .  .  . 

Well,  Whittier,  if  I  have  not  given  you  a  long 
rigmarole  !  When  I  sat  down,  I  intended  to  write 
only  about  the  speakers  at  our  Salem  Meeting.  My 
letter  looked  so  short,  I  thought  I  would  add  a  word 
about  my  residence  ;  and  here  I  have  spun  out  a  whole 
sheet.  Now,  dear  J.  G.  think  the  matter  over  and 
write  me  your  mind  seriously  about  it.  It  will  oblige 
me  much. 

Yours  ever  and  ever, 

H.  B.  STANTON. 


From   CHARLES  A.    DANA 

Brook  Farm,  July  3,  1845. 
FRIEND  WHITTIER   : 

I  received  your  letter  to-day,  but  the  book 
has  not  reached  me.  If  it  is  left  at  Redding  &  Go's., 
8  State  St.,  I  shall  get  it.  I  am  glad  that  you  like  the 
Harbinger.1  The  testimony  of  a  person  like  yourself 
not  pledged  to  its  special  doctrines,  is  an  evidence  that 
we  are  not  wrong  in  the  manner  of  setting  forth  our 
views. 

Animated  by  ideas  which,  whatever  may  be  thought 
of  their  scientific  correctness,  are  universal  in  their 
character,  we  should  plainly  be  inconsistent  with  our 
selves,  did  we  allow  ourselves  to  assume  an  attitude 
of  hostility  to  any  party  or  interest.  We  believe  that 
we  are  the  disciples  of  a  philosophy  which,  while  it 
opens  the  means  of  satisfying  the  irrepressible  aspira 
tions  of  the  heart  of  Man,  reconciles  all  partial  truths 
in  its  own  universality,  and  puts  an  end,  or  rather 
when  once  understood  and  applied,  will  put  an  end  to 
all  scepticism,  as  well  as  to  all  sectarian  controversies. 
With  this  belief  tolerance  is  almost  a  necessity,  though 
on  the  other  hand  criticism  of  what  is  positively  wrong, 
assumes  a  more  decided  though  gentle  tone.  Will  it  be 
too  much  to  ask  of  you  an  occasional  contribution  to 
our  pages  whether  of  prose  or  verse  ?  You  will  see  in 

1  Dana  joined  Brook  Farm  in  1 842.  The  first  number  of  the  Har 
binger,  which  was  the  organ  of  that  institution,  was  issued  June  1 4, 
1845. 


[  95  ] 

this  week's  paper  a  little  piece  '  of  your's  which,  I  fear 
by  the  way,  the  paper  from  which  we  copied  it,  did 
not  print  correctly. 

Our  poetical  department  is  not  an  easy  one  to  fill. 
The  New  Spirit  has  hardly  yet  made  its  way  among  the 
gentler  muses,  though  when  the  Poet  has  once  com 
prehended  the  Destiny  of  Man,  such  strains  will  burst 
from  his  lips  as  the  world  has  never  yet  echoed  with. 
Most  faithfully  yours, 

CHARLES  A.  DANA. 

1  «  When  Freedom,  on  her  natal  day, 
Within  her  war-rocked  cradle  lay, 
An  iron  race  around  her  stood, 
Baptized  her  infant  brow  in  blood; 
And,  through  the  storm  which  round  her  swept, 
Their  constant  ward  and  watching  kept." 

"The  Moral  Warfare,"  Poems,  275. 

Dana's  fears  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  printing  were  groundless. 


From    CHARLES   SUMNER 

Boston,  Jan.  $th  1847.  ['48] 
DEAR  MR.  WHITTIER  : 

I  cannot  let  you  off  without  thanks  for  your 
most  kind  and  flattering  testimony  for  the  little  that 
I  have  been  able  to  do.  I  value  your  word  very  much 
and  esteem  your  notice  a  sprig  of  true  laurel. 

I  wish  that  I  could  see  hope  for  the  country,  but 
I  cannot.  The  war  and  slavery  will  continue  to  tear 
our  vitals.  Thank  God  !  at  last  we  have  a  voice  in  the 
Senate.  Hale  has1  opened  well.  His  short  speeches 
have  been  proper  premonitions  of  what  is  to  come. 
Every  word  from  him  will  resound  through  the  coun 
try.  I  hope  you  will  encourage  him  to  make  thorough 
work  in  the  Senate.  I  wish  to  see  him  discuss  the 
war  in  its  relations  to  slavery.  Then  I  hope  he  will 
find  occasion  to  open  the  whole  subject  of  slavery 
constitutionally,  morally,  politically,  economically.  I 
wish  to  see  Theodore  Parker's  Letter  2  spoken  in  the 
Senate.  That  will  diffuse  it  everywhere. 

I  hope  to  see  you  when  you  are  in  Boston. 
Sincerely  Yrs. 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 

1  John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hampshire  entered  the  U.  S.  Senate  Dec. 
6,  1847. 

2  "Letter  to  the  People  of  the  United  States  Touch  ing  the  Motto 
of  Slavery,"  by  Theodore  Parker,  dated  Dec.  22,  1847,  but  issued 
early  in  1848.   Chadwick,  Parker,  Preacher  and  Reformer,  239. 


To   CHARLES   SUMNER 

Amesbury,  i^d  6tb  Mo.  1848. 


MY  DEAR  FRIEND 

It  is  not  in  my  power  to  be  with  you  to-mor 
row,  although  it  is  my  wish  to  do  so.  In  regard  to  thy 
query  touching  the  Liberty  men  taking  a  part  in  the 
organization  of  the  Convention,1  I  cannot  speak  with 
authority,  but  will  simply  give  my  opinion. 

The  case  as  I  understand  it  is  just  this.  The  Lib 
erty  Party  at  first  small  and  proscribed  has  fought  a 
hard  battle  for  seven  years,  and  has  grown  to  be  at 

1  This  convention  at  Worcester,  June  28,  was  called  for  action 
by  the  "  Conscience  "  Whigs  after  Gen.  Taylor,  a  slave  holder,  had 
been  nominated  for  the  Presidency  at  Philadelphia,  June  7.  Sumner 
was  active  in  the  preparations  for  the  Worcester  gathering,  which  was 
so  largely  attended  that  no  hall  could  hold  the  crowds.  It  was  a  time 
of  the  breaking  of  old  party  lines,  and  others  besides  Whittier  were 
concerned  what  course  to  follow. 

June  20,  three  days  before  the  above  was  written,  Whittier  wrote 
another  to  Sumner,  discussing  the  prospects  and  urging  that  the  "  Con 
science  "  Whigs  act  courageously  and  manfully.  This  letter  (Letter 
Books  of  Charles  Sumner,  Harvard  College  Library)  shows  how 
much  Whittier  was  stirred  by  the  prospect  :  —  "  Call  out  the  grim 
fanaticism  of  the  Puritan.  Dare,  DARE,  DARE,  as  Danton  told  the 
French  ;  that  is  the  secret  of  successful  revolt.  Oh  for  a  man  !  There 
is  the  difficulty  after  all.  Who  is  to  head  the  movement?  .  .  .  Look 
just  now  at  Webster  and  Tom  Corwin  !  Flat  on  their  faces,  like  East 
ern  slaves,  before  Taylor  and  Slavery.  In  what  noble  contrast  stand 
Hale  and  Van  Buren  the  younger.  You  must  have  a  new  and  bold 
man,  one  to  whom  old  notions  and  practices  on  the  question  of  slav 
ery  are  like  threads  of  tow,  breaking  with  the  first  movement  of  his 
limbs. 


[98] 

least  80,000  strong.  Pressed  upon  all  sides,  it  has  a 
compact  form  and  organization  and  is  strong  in  the 
indomitable  will  of  its  members,  who  have  been  tried 
as  by  fire.  The  men  ask  nothing  but  the  privilege  of 
fighting  the  battle  of  freedom  on  the  ground  they 
have  heretofore  maintained.  They  believe  their  posi 
tion  the  right  one,  and  standing  there  they  are  ready 
and  anxious  to  cooperate  with  Conscience  Whigs  and 
Independent  Democrats,  —  nay  more,  they  are  willing 
that  the  latter  shall  be  leaders  and  standard-bearers, 
while  they  fall  into  the  ranks  of  the  common  soldiers 
of  freedom.  (I  see  by  the  by  that  my  figures  are  getting 
somewhat  military.) 

To  show  our  feeling  in  this  district,  our  Conven 
tion  last  fall  nominated  J.  P.  Hale,  an  Independent 
Democrat,  as  our  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  For 
this  some  of  our  other  friends  greatly  censured  us,  and 
have  withdrawn  from  our  organization.  We  nomi 
nated  Hale,  not  only  because  he  was  eminently  worthy 
of  it,  but  because  we  wished  thereby  to  show  to  anti- 
slavery  Whigs  and  Democrats  that  we  were  willing 
to  meet  them  in  a  fraternal  spirit  and  not  as  mere 
partizans.  Against  his  inclinations  Hale  consented  to 
be  a  candidate.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  Lib 
erty  men  must  be  passive  and  let  events  shape  them 
selves,  in  the  hope  that  at  the  coming  election  they 
may  be  able  to  cooperate  fraternally  with  all  who  are 
hostile  to  slavery.  We  cannot,  as  honest  men,  aban 
don  Hale,  who  has  stood  up  so  nobly  for  our  princi 
ples,  so  long  as  he  remains  in  his  present  relation  to 
us.  Should  he  decline,  in  view  of  a  general  movement 
of  all  anti-slavery  men,  the  case  would  be  different. 
But  even  then,  for  one  I  cannot  consent  after  a  life 


[99] 

long  struggle  in  this  cause,  to  be  instrumental  in  lower 
ing  down  the  standard  of  the  Liberty  party.  I  don't 
ask  that  the  candidate  shall  be  a  member  of  that  party, 
but  I  do  insist  that  he  shall  be  a  decided  and  resolute 
anti-slavery  man.  In  this  matter  the  Liberty  men  have 
but  one  voice.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  in  the  power  of 
myself  or  Dr.  Bailey  or  Stanton  or  Chase,  Lewis,  Tap- 
pan,  Fessenden,  etc.,  even  could  we  be  induced  our 
selves  to  undertake  it,  to  carry  the  Liberty  party  in 
favor  of  any  other  than  a  thorough,  hearty  abolitionist. 
They  would  cast  us  off,  and  move  onward. 

As  to  Hale  himself,  he  has  no  wish  to  stand  as  a 
candidate,  unless  by  so  doing  he  can  promote  the 
cause.  He  is  no  partizan  —  he  has  no  other  ties,  than 
that  of  sympathy  in  a  common  object,  to  bind  him  to 
the  Liberty  men.  Dr.  Bailey  has,  I  know,  a  good  deal 
of  faith  in  Judge  McLean.  He  is  a  worthy  respect 
able  man,  but  he  has  never  been  known  as  abolition 
ist.  Some  of  his  decisions  too  are  bad  on  this  very 
subject.  His  range  of  vision  is  narrow.  He  is  the  slave 
of  yesterday,  —  the  victim  of  precedents.  He  is  not 
even  "available."  There  are  ten  hearts  in  the  country 
that  leap  faster  at  the  name  of  Hale,  or  John  Van 
Buren,  or  J.  R.  Fielding,  to  one  that  does  so  at  that 
of  McLean.  The  time  for  old,  worn  petitioners  has 
gone  by.  The  party  of  the  people  must  have  a  man 
fresh  and  strong  from  the  people  themselves. 

Not  knowing  therefore  what  is  contemplated  by 
you,  in  respect  to  a  nomination,  it  would  hardly  be 
best  for  Liberty  men  to  take  responsible  stations  in  the 
organization  of  the  Convention.  At  least,  such  is  my 
feeling.  If  I  cannot  wholly  go  with  you,  I  wish  to 
encourage  you  onward  in  what  you  regard  as  duty, 


unembarassed  by  my  own  scruples  and  difficulties.  In 
heart  and  soul  I  am  with  you  in  every  honest  word 
and  work  for  freedom.  I  rejoice  to  hear  of  Judge 
Allen's  reception.  A  prominent  Democrat  here  tells 
me  he  shall  go  with  the  party  of  freedom.  The  Whigs 
will  have  the  very  flower  of  their  party.  God  bless 
you,  and  guide  you. 

JOHN  G.   WHITTIER. 

Excuse  the  haste  of  this  letter.  I  have  no  time  to  see 
what  I  have  written. 

W. 


From   CHARLES   SUMNER 

Boston,  July  iztb,  '48. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

It  is  hard  for  me  to  stay  away,  when  you 
bid  me  come;  but  positive  engagements  occupy  all 
my  time.  I  must  decline  for  the  present  the  invitation 
you  send  me.1 

I  cannot  hope  to  do  service  in  the  way  you  propose 
till  after  the  Buffalo  Convention.  My  duties  for  the 
present  occupy  every  moment.  I  need  not  dwell  upon 
them ;  but  you  may  be  assured  that  I  should  not  de 
cline  yr  summons  unless  I  felt  constrained  so  to  do. 
Things  tend  to  Van  Buren  as  our  candidate.  I  am 
willing  to  take  him.  With  him  we  can  break  the  slave- 
power.  That  is  our  first  aim.  We  can  have  a  direct 
issue  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  We  hope  that  McLean 
will  be  Vice-President,  Van  B.  and  McL. !  That  is  a 
strong  Free  Soil  ticket.  It  will  go  like  an  elephant 
among  the  cane-brakes.  Truly  success  seems  to  be 
within  our  reach.  I  never  supposed  that  I  should 
belong  to  a  successful  party. 
In  haste, 

Ever  yrs. 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 
1  In  Appendix  H,  p.  278. 


From   HENRY   B.  STANTON 

Seneca  Falls,  July  31,  1848. 
DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

If  you  go  to  Buffalo1  (as  I  hope  you  will)  I 
fear  this  hasty  note,  in  reply  to  yours,  will  not  reach 
you  ere  you  start.  I  am  just  off  to  attend  a  Free  Soil 
meeting  at  Penn  Yan,  to-morrow,  and  have  not  time 
to  go  at  length  into  the  points  suggested  in  your  let 
ter.  To  come  to  a  point,  if  not  the  point,  I  suppose 
if  you  were  satisfied  your  vote  would  elect  Van  Buren 
over  both  Cass  and  Taylor,  you  would  not,  standing 
as  he  now  does,  give  it  to  him.  Well,  /  would. 

You  say  this  is  taking  the  very  ground  repudiated 
by  me  in  1844  in  the  case  of  Clay.  My  answer  is  : 

1  Whittier  had  planned  to  attend,  but  his  health  prevented.  Stan- 
ton  {Recollections,  162)  tells  the  character  of  the  convention:  — 

"  The  nomination  of  General  Cass  for  the  Presidency  by  the 
Democrats  and  General  Taylor  by  the  Whigs  led  to  the  Buffalo  Con 
vention  of  1848.  The  Barnburners  had  opposed  Cass  in  vain  at  the 
Baltimore  Convention.  They  had  made  the  Monumental  City  lurid 
with  their  wrath,  frightening  the  delegates  from  the  back  States  almost 
out  of  their  wits. 

"At  Buffalo  I  was  one  of  the  committee  that  drafted  its  Free  Soil 
platform.  It  was  a  motley  assembly.  Pro-Slavery  Democrats  were 
there  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  Martin  Van  Buren.  Free  Soil  Demo 
crats  were  there  to  punish  the  assassins  of  Silas  Wright.  Pro-Slavery 
Whigs  were  there  to  strike  down  General  Taylor  because  he  had 
dethroned  their  idol,  Henry  Clay,  in  the  Philadelphia  Convention. 
Anti-Slavery  Whigs  were  there  breathing  the  spirit  of  the  departed 
John  Quincy  Adams.  Abolitionists  of  all  shades  of  opinion  were  pre 
sent,  from  the  darkest  type  to  those  of  a  milder  hue,  who  shared  the 
views  of  Salmon  P.  Chase." 


1.  Suppose  it  is.  This  does  not  prove  it  to  be  wrong. 

2.  But  it  is  not.  'Then  the  question  was  territorial  ex 
tension  ;  now  it  is  slavery  extension.  Then  the  candi 
date  was  a  slaveholder ;  now  he  is  not.  Then  we  were 
not  sure  he  was  right,  but  believed  him  to  be  wrong, 
on  the  very  question  at  issue ;  now  we  know  him  to 
be  right.  Then  we  were  asked  to  unite  with  one  of 
the  great  pro-slavery  parties  of  the  country,  in  the 
support  of  its  candidates ;  now  we  are  asked  to  unite 
with  men  of  all  parties,  who  have  abandoned  their 
parties  on  the  ground  of  their  subserviency  to  slavery 
and  are  rallying  on  independent  ground  to  meet  a 
precise  issue  which  the  slave  power  tenders. 

There  are  other  differences,  but  these  will  suffice. 
The  simple  question  is,  whether  Liberty  men  will,  at 
this  crisis,  vote  for  a  candidate  for  President,  who  is 
not  with  them  on  all  points.  Twist  it  as  we  will,  that 
is  it.  For  one,  I  say  /  will.  Suppose  we  had  power  to 
elect  all  the  officers  to  govern  the  new  territories ; 
and  one  set  /  knew  would  keep  slavery  out ;  and  there 
were  two  other  sets  that  would  let  it  in.  Would  I 
refuse  to  vote  for  the  former  because  they  did  not 
think  Congress  ought  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  Dist. 
of  Columbia  ?  I  certainly  would  not.  You  see  the 
analogy. 

In  a  word,  so  imminent  do  I  esteem  the  present 
crisis,  believing  that  we  are  at  this  election  settling  the 
destiny  of  all  Mexico,  and  indeed  the  question  of 
peaceful  abolition,  or  bloody  revolution,  I  shall  go  for 
the  nominee  of  the  Buffalo  Convention,  I  presume. 

By  so  doing,  I  do  not  give  up  any  principle  I  ever 
held ;  and  do  not  feel  in  any  danger  of  being  lost 
hereafter.  Indeed,  by  supporting  Hale,  I  go  for  a  man 


I04 

who  does  not  go  so  far  as  I  do  as  to  the  power  of  Con 
gress.  I  differ  with  him.  The  truth  is,  we  Liberty  men 
have  got  some  isms  that  are  too  refined  for  use.  They 
are  like  the  Whig  Anti-Slavery  resolutions;  better 
adapted  for  show  than  use. 

Lewis  Tappan  puts  forth  an  address,  counselling  us 
to  stand  firm,  etc.  He  and  his  co-signers  live  in  a  city 
of  half  a  million  of  people.  They  give  half  a  hundred 
votes.  Such  men  are  not  practical,  except  on  paper. 

I  don't  like  the  Emancipator  folks.  They  pass 
resolutions  against  go  [ing]  to  Buffalo  as  delegates,  in 
State  Committee,  and  then  all  hands  turn  out,  attend 
Free  Soil  meetings  called  to  appoint  delegates,  make 
speeches,  and  get  appointed  delegates  themselves.  I 
don't  see  the  joke. 

Don't  infer  from  all  this  that  V.  Buren  is  my  man. 
I  shall  oppose  him  at  B.  But  I  shall  go  — Have  writ 
ten  this  in  3  minutes.  Hope  to  see  you  at  B.  Call 
here. 

Haste.    Thine  ever, 

H.  B.  STANTON. 

Hale  proposes  to  make  you,  Tuck,  Lewis,  Leavitt 
and  me  a  Committee  to  decide  upon  his  duty  as  to 
withdrawing —  to  consult  at  Buffalo.  From  this,  I  take 
it  for  granted  you  will  be  there.  I  start  from  home 
Monday  morning.  Don't  fail  to  be  there. 


From  THOMAS  WENTWORTH 
HIGGINSON' 

Newburyport,  Aug.  3,  1848. 
DEAR  FRIEND  : 

I  spoke  somewhat  hurriedly  in  answer  to  yr 
invitation  to  me  (at  the  Convention)  to  come  to  Ames- 
bury  :  let  me  say  therefore  a  word  to  explain. 

My  position  is  rather  a  difficult  one  just  now,  for 
my  good  friends  here,  though  ready  to  allow  me  any 

1  Colonel  Higginson  in  his  Cheerful  Tester  days  (100-131)  writes 
of  the  "Rearing  of  a  Reformer"  and  describes  his  "rather  diffi 
cult  position."  At  the  date  of  this  letter  he  had  nearly  completed 
the  first  of  his  two  years  of  service  as  minister  of  the  First  Religious 
Society  of  Newburyport.  He  was  soon  to  be  nominated  for  Congress 
by  the  new  Free  Soil  party,  a  result,  he  says,  of  the  work  of  Whittier, 
who  saw  that  he  himself  might  have  to  accept  the  nomination,  and  so 
drafted  the  ardent  young  preacher  from  Newburyport  as  a  substitute. 
Higginson  accepted  and  "stumped"  the  district,  but  was  defeated, as 
was  anticipated. 

The  nature  and  extent  of  the  "  prejudices  among  his  good  friends  " 
Colonel  Higginson  indicates  in  his  description  of  the  retired  sea  cap 
tains  in  his  parish,  most  of  whom  had  had  experience  in  Southern  ports 
with  slavery,  and  wanted  that  subject  kept  out  of  the  pulpit.  Among 
these  captains  was  Francis  Todd,  whose  judgment  against  Garrison  for 
$50  and  costs  for  libel,  was  the  cause  of  Garrison's  imprisonment  in 
the  Baltimore  jail  for  seven  weeks  in  1830.  Garrison  in  the  Genius  of 
Universal  Emancipation  had  commented  in  characteristic  manner  on 
Todd's  vessel  having  transported  a  cargo  of  slaves  from  Baltimore  to 
New  Orleans.  {Garrison,  i,  167.) 

The  Oration  at  the  Proceedings  of  the  I5oth  Anniversary  of  this 
Church  in  1875  deals  w"h  tn^s  period  and  its  events. 


amount  of  liberty  in  the  pulpit,  have  yet  prejudices 
which  make  it  a  hard  trial  to  them  to  have  their  min 
ister  take  the  stump  at  a  Presidential  election,  par 
ticularly  on  what  they  think  a  very  wrong  side.  Now 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  just  at  this  time,  I  need  all 
the  influence  I  have  here  especially  and  am  bound  not 
to  tamper  with  it.  At  the  same  time  I  see  it  a  clear 
duty  to  go  just  as  far  as  I  wisely  can  in  helping  on  the 
several  agitations. 

Now  I  candidly  think  and  so  would  you,  if  you 
knew  all  the  circumstances,  that  my  Lowell  movement 
was  going  quite  far  enough  just  now.  It  will  try  my 
friends  here  severely.  I  felt  a  clear  call  to  do  it  and 
shall  in  any  case  rejoice  I  did.  I  may  feel  an  equally 
clear  call  to  address  every  town  in  the  District  and  in 
that  case  shall  do  it,  but  I  dont  expect  to.  At  any  rate 
I  must  wait  and  see  the  effect  of  this  blow  here,  before 
I  strike  another.  My  next  may  be  an  address  here, 
for  aught  I  know.  I  have  thought  of  it,  and  if  I  do, 
the  effect  of  it  would  be  decidedly  better  for  my  begin 
ning  at  home.  In  any  case  I  feel  that  this  is  the  most 
important  soil,  and  I  am  constantly  considering  the 
influence  to  be  excited  here. 

Another  thing  is  the  uncertain  result  of  the  Buffalo 
Convention.  Unless  we  can  have  union  I  shall  not 
want  to  come  forward,  and  certainly  do  not  wish  to, 
before  we  know  how  we  are  to  stand. 

In  case  the  B.  C.  should  nominate  some  one  who 
can  unite  us,  this  plan  has  occurred  to  me,  to  have 
another  District  Convention,  either  at  Haverhill  or 
actually  here,  and  bring  out  all  our  strength.  I  will 
pledge  myself  for  that  unhesitatingly,  and  I  should  an 
ticipate  marked  results  from  it  even  here. 


You  will  see  that  I  am  a  somewhat  cautious  person, 
but  I  am  not  afraid  of  your  distrusting  me,  or  misun 
derstanding. 

Yours  heartily, 

T.    W.    HlGGINSON. 

This  does  n't  demand  any  answer. 


From    LEWIS   TAPPAN' 

Dover,  N.  H.  Auv.  22/48. 
DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

On  my  return  to  Wells  Beach,  Me.,  Miss 
Minot  and  Chamberlain  accompanied  me  to  this  place. 
I  saw  Leavitt  in  Boston,  who  is  mesmerised  into  a 
full  blooded  Van  Buren  man.  He  fully  expects  that 
the  magician  will  write  a  perfectly  satisfactory  letter. 
I  told  him,  I  hoped  so,  but  should  wait  to  see  it  be 
fore  forsaking  Hale  and  throwing  up  my  cap  for 
Van. 

We  had  a  long  interview  with  Mr.  Hale  last  even 
ing.  It  is  evident  that  he  feels  keenly  that  he  has  not 
been  well  [treated]  and  Stanton  has,  I  greatly  fear,  be 
trayed  him  and  the  cause.  After  writing  to  me  that 
he  shd  go  to  Buffalo  to  advocate  the  nomination  of 
Hale,  he  did  all  he  could  there,  from  the  first,  to  en 
sure  the  nomination  of  Van  Buren.  While  Leavitt 
and  Lewis  and  Jackson  voted  for  Hale  at  the  first 

1  Of  his  friend  Lewis  Tappan  Whittier  (Prose  Works,  ii,  278)  re 
cords :  "At  the  very  outset,  in  company  with  his  brother  Arthur, 
he  devoted  his  time,  talents  and  wealth,  and  social  position  to  the 
righteous  but  unpopular  cause  of  Emancipation,  and  became,  in  con 
sequence,  a  mark  for  the  persecution  which  followed  such  devotion. 
His  business  was  crippled,  his  name  cast  out  as  evil,  his  dwelling 
sacked  and  his  furniture  cast  into  the  street  and  burned.  Yet  he  never, 
in  the  darkest  hour,  faltered  or  hesitated  for  a  moment.  He  knew  he 
was  right,  and  that  the  end  would  justify  him  ;  one  of  the  cheerfullest 
of  men,  he  was  strong  where  others  were  weak,  hopeful  where  others 
despaired." 


[  I09  ] 

balloting,  Stanton  voted  for  Van  and  electioneered  for 
him  with  all  his  might. 

Mr.  Hale  did  not  withdraw !  He  wrote  a  letter  to 
Giddings  (which  G.  lost  on  the  way)  stating  that  in 
the  peculiar  and  responsible  circumstances  in  which 
he  was  placed,  he  needed  advice,  and  desired  that  the 
friends  who  attended  the  Convention,  would  inform 
him  of  what  was  done  and  advise  him  as  to  the  course 
he  had  best  pursue.  Hale  also  wrote  to  Stanton  giving 
him  the  substance  of  his  letter  to  Giddings.  On  the 
envelope  of  the  letter  to  G.,  Mr.  Hale  wrote  5  names 
—  as  the  friends  whose  advice  he  needed  —  Leavitt, 
Fogg,  Whittier,  Stanton  and  Lewis.  On  the  strength 
of  such  a  letter  Mr.  Hale's  name  was  withdrawn  and 
the  Liberty  men  urged  to  go  for  Van  Buren ! 

Leavitt  wanted,  yesterday,  to  have  Hale's  name 
taken  down  on  the  "Emancipator,"  and  Van  Buren's 
hoisted.  He  seemed  to  insist  upon  it,  but  it  was  re 
fused.  Hale's  name  will  continue  to  float  at  mast  head, 
until  Mr.  Van  Buren's  letter  is  received  and  approved 
by  Mr.  Hale  and  his  friends,  his  true  friends. 

If  Van  Buren  adopts  the  Buffalo  Platform,  I  sup 
pose  we  must  all  go  for  him.  If  he  does  not,  should 
we  not  let  the  Lib.  party  know  all  the  facts,  and  rally 
for  Hale  and  Liberty ! 

I  expect  to  be  at  Wells  Beach  all  this  week.  My 
address  is  Wells  Beach,  N.  Berwick,  Me.  After  this 
week  my  address  for  a  few  days  will  be  care  Geo. 
W?  Gordon,  Boston,  and  after  that  at  New  York  as 
usual. 

I  was  28  minutes  in  going  from  your  house  to  the 
Depot  (poor  horse !)  and  arrived  in  Boston  in  good 
time.  It  would  have  given  me  peculiar  pleasure  to 


[    "0] 

have  remained  longer  with  you,  and  to  have  talked 
over  private  as  well  as  public  affairs.  I  want  to  do 
something  to  promote  your  health  and  that  of  your 
dear  sister.  But  the  train  is  coming. 

Ever  and  truly  yours, 

L.  TAPPAN. 


From   CHARLES   SUMNER 

Boston,  Dec.  6th  '48 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

Yr  poem1  in  the  last  Era  has  touched  my 
heart.  Are  you  well  ?  I  fear  that  you  are  not.  May 
God  preserve  you  in  strength  and  courage,  for  all 
good  works. 

I  have  yr  new  volume.2  It  is  a  precious  collection  ; 
but  where  are  the  Poems  of  Labor?3  I  rejoice  that 
this  volume  is  published.  We  will  let  our  Poet  uproot 
the  slave-trade.  There  they  cannot  withstand.  How 
much  more  powerful  is  a  song  than  a  bullet!  The 
literature  of  the  world  is  turning  against  slavery.  We 
shall  have  it  soon  in  a  state  of  moral  blockade.  Then 
it  must  fall.  We  will  treat  it  like  a  besieged  city — 
cut  off  from  all  supplies. 

1  "  I  ask  not  now  for  gold  to  gild 

With  mocking  shine  a  weary  frame ; 
The  yearning  of  the  mind  is  stilled, 
I  ask  not  now  for  fame." 

"  The  Wish  of  To-day,"  Poems,  431. 

2  Poemsby  John  G.  Whittier.  Illustrated  by  H.  Billings.  Boston: 
Benjamin  B.  Mussey  &  Company,  1849,  pp.  384.  This,  the  first 
general  collection  of  Whittier' s  poems,  was  undertaken  in  part  through 
friendship  and  appreciation  of  Whitjier's  anti-slavery  work  with  which 
Mussey  sympathized.  The  volume  was  handsomely  printed,  and  was 
successful  financially,  three  editions  having  been  printed. 

*  "The  Songs  of  Labor, ' '  which  had  appeared  in  the  Democratic  Re 
view  1 845-1 847,  were  not  gathered  in  a  volume  until  1 850,  when  with 
other  poems  they  were  published  by  Ticknor,  Reed  &  Fields,  pp.  127. 


[    112] 

I  admire  Bailey r  as  an  editor  very  much.  His  arti 
cles  show  infinite  sagacity  and  tact.  That  in  the  last 
number  on  the  old  Democratic  party  is  perfect. 

Do  you  see  the  efforts  to  wriggle  away  from  the 
Wilmot  Proviso?  I  fear  that  the  "artful  dodgers" 
will  yet  prevail. 

But  I  took  my  pen,  merely  to  ask  after  your  health. 
There  are  few  to  whom  I  would  allot  a  larger  measure 
of  this  world's  blessings,  than  to  yourself — had  I  any 
control ;  for  there  are  few  who  deserve  them  more.  I 
trust  to  hear  that  you  are  strong  in  body,  happy  in 
heart.  Adieu.  Ever  sincerely  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 

1  Editor  of  the  National  Era,  of  which  Whittier  was  correspond 
ing  editor. 


To  "THE  BAY  STATE/1  LYNN 

Amesbury,  ^.tb  loth  Month  1850 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Bay  State. 

I  have  just  learned  that  my  name  has  been 
placed  on  the  ticket  for  State  Senators  by  the  Demo 
cratic  County  Convention,  held  at  Salem  on  the  2d 
Ins1.  I  am  grateful  for  this  mark  of  confidence  on 
the  part  of  that  Convention,  but  must  nevertheless 
decline  the  nomination.  I  doubtless  sympathise  to  a 
great  extent  with  the  Convention  in  respect  to  the 
desirableness  of  State  Reform,  but  this  consideration 
alone  is,  to  my  mind  as  dust  in  the  balance  compared 
to  the  Senatorial  election  by  our  next  Legislature.  To 
effect  the  election  of  a  decided  and  active  Friend  of 
Human  Freedom  to  the  National  Councils  for  the  next 
six  years,  I  would  make  any  exertion  or  sacrifice  con 
sistent  with  the  principles  which  I  cherish  and  have 
long  publickly  maintained. 

While  I  have  sufficient  personal  and  private  reasons 
for  declining  any  nomination  for  political  office,  there 
is  one  of  a  different  character,  which  I  may  be  justified 
in  alluding  to.  Since  the  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  by  Congress^  I  find  myself  in  a  position  with  re 
spect  to  it,  which  I  fear  my  fellow  citizens  generally 
are  not  prepared  to  justify.  So  far  as  that  law  is  con 
cerned,  I  am  a  nullifier.  By  no  act  or  countenance  or 
consent  of  mine  shall  that  law  be  enforced  in  Massa- 


C   "4] 

cbusetts.    My  door  is  still  open   to  the  oppressed, 
whether  fleeing  from  Austria1  or  South  Carolina. 
Thy  friend  JOHN  G.  WHITTIER 

Endorsement  by  Wbittier.  Copy  of  letter  to  the 

Ed.  "Bay  State,"  Lynn,  Mass. 

1  Kossuth  was  at  this  time  in  America.   Poems ,  1 89. 


From    CHARLES   SUMNER 

Boston,  Dec.  $d  '50 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER: 

Some  days  ago  I  sent  you,  through  Fields,  my 
two  vols.1  and  I  am  now  tempted  to  write,  partly  to 
excuse  myself  for  thus  venturing.  My  ideal  \s  so  much 
above  any  thing  actual  in  my  poor  life,  that  I  have 
little  satisfaction  in  any  thing  I  am  able  to  do.  And 
I  value  these  things,  which  are  now  published,  simply 
as  my  earnest  testimony  to  truths,  which  I  have  most 
sincerely  at  heart.  They  have  all  been  done,  because 
I  could  not  help  it  —  almost  unconsciously,  I  may  say. 
One  of  the  thoughts,  which  reconcile  me  to  my  auda 
city,  is  that  possibly  these  volumes  may  tempt  young 
men,  particularly  at  colleges,  to  our  fields  of  action. 
But  I  have  little  confidence  even  in  this  aspiration. 

I  have  longed  to  see  you  of  late  ;  for  there  are  sev 
eral  matters  that  I  should  be  glad  to  confer  with  you 
about.  The  late  elections  have  given  us  great  advan 
tages.  I  hope  they  will  be  exercised  wisely,  discreetly, 
justly  and  without  any  petty  proscription.  But  in  order 
to  make  our  position  tolerable,  it  seems  to  me  that 
Boutwell,2  if  he  receives  our  vote,  must  in  his  message 
put  himself  substantially  upon  our  platform.  I  believe 

1  Sumner's  Orations  and  Speeches  had  just  been  printed  in  two 
volumes  by  Ticknor  &  Fields. 

*  Boutwell's  inaugural  message,  Jan.  1851,  was  not  definite  and  de 
cided  against  slavery  and  the  recently  enacted  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and 
in  consequence  the  Free  Soilers  took  offense.  Pierce,  Sumner,  iii, 
241. 


[  "6] 

he  voted  for  the  resolutions  of  last  winter.  I  should 
be  content,  if  he  would  repeat  those  in  his  message, 
and  say  that  he  abides  by  them.  Without  some  such 
adherence  by  him  to  our  principles  our  whole  combi 
nation  will  be  routed  next  autumn. 

Of  these  and  other  things  I  should  like  to  talk  with 
you.  When  shall  you  be  in  town?  Mr.  Hallam  has 
lost  his  only  other  son,  by  sudden  death  at  Sienna. 
The  first  died  suddenly  at  Vienna.  Who  will  write  his 

In  Memoriam? 

Ever  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 

How  long  does  Miss  [illegible]  remain  in  Ames- 
bury.  I  must  see  you  to-morrow,  if  I  come  up. 

P.  S.  Yr.  last  article  in  the  Era  was  most  inter 
esting.1 

1  "Slavery  in  Massachusetts,"  signed).  G.  W.,  in  the  National 
Era,  Nov.  28,1850.  After  an  historical  review  the  article  continues: 
"  It  will  be  seen  by  the  facts  we  have  adduced  that  slavery  in  Mas 
sachusetts  never  had  a  legal  existence.  The  ermine  of  the  judiciary  of 
the  Puritan  State  has  never  been  sullied  by  the  admission  of  its  detest 
able  claims.  It  crept  into  the  Commonwealth  like  other  evils  and  vices, 
but  never  succeeded  in  clothing  itself  with  the  sanction  and  authority 
of  law.  It  stood  only  upon  its  own  execrable  foundation  of  robbery 
and  wrong.*' 


From   CHARLES    SUMNER 

Boston,  Sept.  nth  '51. 
DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  distrust  myself  where  I  differ  from  you  ; 
but  I  do  most  sincerely  believe  that  the  good  of  our 
cause  is  most  intimately  connected  with  the  triumph 
of  the  coalition1  this  autumn.  And  though  I  covet 
the  entire  absorption  of  the  Dem.  party  by  our  force, 
yet  1  am  willing  to  use  them,  and  also  for  other  matters 
to  co-operate  with  them,  on  the  best  terms,  we  can 
get.  Websterized  Whiggry  must  be  defeated.  But 
this  can  be  done  only  by  a  coalition,  securing  to 
freedom  once  more  the  BALANCE  of  power  in 
the  Legislature.  For  that  balance  of  power  I  pray. 
Help  us.  Do.3 

Ever  and  ever  thine, 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 

1  By  the  coalition  of  Free  Soilers  and   Democrats,  the  preceding 
January,  George  S.   Boutwell,  a  Democrat,  had  been  elected  Gov 
ernor  by  the  Legislature,  the  understanding  being  that  the  Democrats 
were  to  vote  for  a  Free  Soiler  for  U.  S.  Senator.   Under  this  arrange 
ment  Sumner  was  elected  in  April,  1851,  defeating  Winthrop,  a  Whig, 
after  a  long,  hardfought  contest.    "The  triumph  of  coalition"  was 
not  obtained ;  the  Democrats  in  November  having  a  majority  without 
any  Free  Soil  votes. 

2  Whittier's  reply,  from  the  Letter  Book  of  Charles  Sumner,  Har 
vard  Library. 

Amesbur-jy  i^tb  gtb  mo.  1851 
MY  DEAR  SUMNER  : 

Thy  note  has  been  rec'd,  and  I  will  write  thee  in  a  day  or  two. 
The  proceedings  of  the  Whig  Convention  have  gone  far  to  reconcile 
me  to  the  views  expressed  in  thy  letter,  Still  I  am  not  prepared  to 


P.  S.  Various  reasons  impose  upon  me  silence  dur 
ing  this  contest;  but  I  feel  that  my  usefulness  in  the 
place  to  which  I  have  been  sent,  much  against  my 
own  desire,  will  much  depend  upon  the  success  of  the 
coalition.  Imagine  yr.  Senator  at  Washington  with 
Winthrop  Govern  [or]  and  a  Websterized  Whig  Leg 
islature.  * 

act :  my  old  Liberty  party  impracticability  is  difficult  to  overcome.  I 
want  to  be  in  Worcester,  but  I  am  not  able  to  bear  the  fatigue  and 
excitement. 

My  friend  Geo.  Turner  of  this  place  is  authorized  to  call  on  thee 
and  if  possible  to  secure  thee  as  a  lecturer  in  our  new  Lyceum.  Do 
not  refuse.  I  want  to  see  thee  before  thou  leaves  for  Washington. 

Thine  ever, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

1  Sumner  was  criticised  at  the  time  for  not  entering  more  heartily 
into  the  campaign,  it  being  felt  that  as  he  had  accepted  office,  he 
should  work  for  the  party. 


From    EDWIN    P.    HILL1 

Haver billy  Ms.  May  3,  1853. 
FRIEND  WHITTIER  : 

Your  favor  of  the  22d  ultimo  was  duly  rec'd. 
To  the  several  points  I  now  reply  in  their  order. 

i?  I  much  regret  that  your  inclinations  are  some 
what  adverse  to  the  publication  of  a  portrait,  from  the 
fact  that  there  are  very  many  of  your  friends  that  de 
sire  it.  I  do  not  however  understand  you  to  peremp 
torily  decline  the  presentation  of  your  "  face  "  to  the 
public.  Should  you  on  further  consideration  of  the 
subject  think  it  proper,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  have 
the  honor  of  its  publication,  and  assure  you  it  shall 
be  presented  in  the  best  style.  If  at  any  time  you  shall 
be  disposed  to  sit  fora  picture  for  that  purpose,  please 
send  it  me  with  a  statement  of  its  cost  and  I  will  send 
the  money  to  you. 

1*  With  reference  to  the  homestead.  It  is  almost 
universally  the  case  that  pictures  are  made  to  appear 
better  than  their  originals  ;  such  may  in  some  slight 
degree  be  the  case  with  this,  but  I  have  never  seen  a 
picture  that  was  so  generally  regarded  as  truthful  as 

1  Edwin  P.  Hill  (1818-1900),  a  merchant  of  Haverhill,  was  ac 
tive  in  the  same  political  circles  with  Whittier.  He  was  appointed 
postmaster  by  Lincoln  and  served  eight  years.  All  through  his  life  he 
maintained  a  connection,  more  or  less  close,  with  newspapers,  either 
as  correspondent  or  editorial  writer.  In  1853  ^e  published  the  litho 
graph,  mentioned  in  the  letter,  which  bears  this  inscription  : 
"  Birthplace  of  John  G.  Whittier,  the  American  Quaker  Poet,  Haver- 
hill,  Mass.  To  John  G.  Whittier,  the  Reform  poet,  this  picture  is 
most  respectfully  dedicated  by  the  publishers."  The  plate  is  drawn 
from  a  rather  indifferent  painting  by  a  local  artist. 


[    120  ] 

this.  Your  friend  Moses  Emerson,  who  by  the  way 
is  a  close  observer,  says  "it  looks  just  like  the  old 
place,"  that  he  "should  know  it  if  he  met  the  picture 
in  England."  It  was  necessary  to  leave  out  a  few  trees 
to  get  a  good  view.  There  is  no  well  curb  now,  a  few 
stones  mark  the  place  of  the  well,  and  those  are  be 
hind  a  tree — the  "old  oaken  bucket"  is  also  gone. 

3*  With  regard  to  the  title  &c,  Horace  Greeley  calls 
you  in  his  notice  of  your  poems  the  "  American 
Quaker  poet"  and  he,  you  know,  is  an  unpretending 
man  and  would  not  use  words  unreasonably,  if  he 
knew  it ;  I  ventured  to  take  that  part  of  the  title 
from  him.  We  have  a  little  pride  in  American  talent, 
which  finds  its  way  out  occasionally. 

The  "repetition"  you  speak  of,  I  could  not  well 
avoid. —  Besides  the  Americanism,  we  have  a  pride 
in  your  position  as  a  "  Reform  "  poet;  strictly  speak 
ing  you  are  the  only  one  we  have,  and  I  wished  to 
unite  this  idea  with  the  picture.  I  am  sorry  your 
sister  and  yourself  do  not  entirely  agree  with  this 
view,  but  trust  it  may  be  no  decided  objection  in 
your  mind.  I  had  ordered  the  printing  of  the  pic 
tures,  and  that  part  was  done  before  your  letter  was 
rec'd.  It  is  regarded  as  an  appropriate  title  by  all  who 
have  spoken  of  it. 

If  agreeable  to  you,  I  should  like  a  short  certificate 
bearing  upon  the  correctness  and  general  truthfulness 
of  the  picture. 

I  send  you  3  copies,  and  i  also  enclosed  which  please 
pass  to  the  editor  of  the  Villager.  There  is  no  charge 
for  these  —  please  accept  them  from  the  publisher 
with  sentiments  of  high  esteem.  Truly  thine, 

E.  P.  HILL. 


From   CHARLES   SUMNER 

Boston,  Nov.  list  '53. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER: 

The  day  after  our  election,  I  left  for  New  York, 
where,  amongst  other  things  I  enjoyed  the  Xstal 
Palace  and  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  at  the  low  theatre, 
now  changed  and  elevated;  and  on  my  return  Sunday 
morning  found  yr.  letter.1 

The  loss  of  the  Constitution 2  is  a  severe  calamity 
to  the  Liberal  cause  in  this  State.  I  deplore  it  from 
my  heart.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  may  be  traced  to 
three  causes. 

i"  in  order  of  time ;  the  defection  of  Palfrey  and 
Adams  which  stimulated  the  Whigs  and  neutralized 
many  of  our  friends. 

an<!ly.  Cushing's  letter,3  which  paralyzed  the  activities 
of  the  Democratic  leaders  ;  and 

3d.ly  the  positive  intervention  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
With  any  one  of  these  sinister  influences  out  of  the 
way  we  should  have  established  the  new  Constitution. 
With  it  would  have  come  many  beneficent  changes, 
but  beyond  all  else,  it  would  have  broken  the  back 
bone  of  the  Boston  oligarchy,  the  stumbling-block  of 

1  In  Appendix  I,  page  279. 

2  Several  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts  had 
been  submitted  to  vote  in  November,  1853,  and  were  rejected. 

3  A  letter  of  Caleb  Gushing,  then  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
States,  discountenancing  a  further  alliance  of  Democrats  and  Free  Soil- 
ers,  had  great  effect  on  those  seeking  office  from  tke  Democratic  ad 
ministration. 


all  reform  and  especially  of  all  Anti-slavery.  I  honor 
Palfrey  much  for  his  life  and  for  what  at  other  times 
he  has  done;  but  I  hardly  venture  to  hope  that  he  can 
by  any  future  service  repair  the  wrong  he  has  done  to 
our  cause. 

I  have  not  been  a  party  to  any  counsels  of  our 
friends  since  the  election.  My  hope  is  that  the  Whigs 
may  yet  be  defeated  in  their  efforts  to  secure  the  con 
trol  of  the  House,  so  that  our  friends  may  press  their 
reforms  with  hope  of  success. 

My  desire  is  for  the  plurality  rule,  that  we  may 
submit  our  cause  directly  to  the  people.  Yea  or  Nay  ! 
—  In  a  week  I  leave  for  Washington.  The  Convention 
and  the  late  contest  have  absorbed  most  of  my  time 
since  the  last  Congress.  Let  me  hear  from  you  and 
be  sure  that  I  count  upon  your  c[ounsel]  and  friend 
ship. 

Ever  thine, 

CHARLES  SUMNER 


From   CORNELIUS   CONWAY   FELTON ' 

Cambridge,  June  26,  1855. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

After  a  day  of  excessive  heat,  passed  in  the 
class  and  lecture  room,  I  have  just  been  refreshed  by 
reading  your  charming  poem  —  the  Barefoot  Boy.a  I 
do  not  know  that  it  has  not  been  published  before : 
but  I  never  saw  it  until  I  took  up  this  evening's  Tran 
script  and  my  eye  falling  on  the  subject,  read  it 
through.  The  sensations  and  memories  it  called  up 
were  delicious  as  a  shower  in  a  summer  afternoon ; 
and  I  forgot  the  intervening  years,  forgot  Latin  and 
Greek — forgot  boots  and  shoes  and  long-tailed  and 
broad-tailed  coats  —  and  revelled  again  in  the  days 
and  delights  of  jacket-hood,  torn  hat-hood  and  bare 
foot-hood.  For  all  this,  I  cannot  help  thanking  you, 
and  for  so  many  other  true  touches  of  native  poetry. 

1  Professor  of  Greek  at  Harvard  College  from  1832,  and  President 
from  1860  until  his  death  in  1862. 

a  ««  Blessings  on  thee,  little  man, 
Barefoot  boy,  with  cheek  of  tan! 
With  thy  up-turned  pantaloons, 
And  thy  merry  whistled  tunes  ; 
With  thy  red  lips,  redder  still 
Kissed  by  strawberries  on  the  hill ; 
With  the  sunshine  on  thy  face, 
Through  thy  torn  brim's  jaunty  grace  ; 
From  my  heart  I  give  thee  joy,  — 
I  was  once  a  barefoot  boy." 

Poems,  396. 


[ 

This,  however,  comes  home  to  me  in  a  peculiar  man 
ner.  I  feel  the  tingle  of  it,  to  the  ends  of  my  toes,  and 
sigh  to  think  of  the  double-soled  boots  I  shall  have  to 
wear,  until  wearing  anything  will  be  bootless. 

Perhaps  the  following  passage,  in  a  lecture  (one  of 
a  course  delivered  by  me  three  years  ago  before  the 
Lowell  Institute  in  Boston)  on  the  Life  and  Literature 
of  the  Greeks,  will  amuse  you: — "To  go  barefoot 
never  offended  the  usages  of  society,  except  on  festive 
or  state  occasions ;  and  anyone  who  remembers  with 
what  delight  he  felt  the  firm  touch  of  the  earth,  in 
Spring  or  early  Summer,  when  the  time  came  for 
throwing  off  his  shoes  and  stockings,  will  agree  with 
me  in  thinking  that  the  Hellenic  usage  in  this  respect 
was  more  natural  and  agreeable  than  our  own.  Of  all 
the  enjoyments  of  childhood  and  youth  in  the  country 
in  former  times,  this  of  the  soft  fresh  feeling  of  the 
genial  earth  pressed  by  the  unshod  sole  of  the  foot,  is 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  delicious :  —  a  pleasure, 
I  fear,  now  fast  vanishing  away:  — c  baud  inexpertus 
loquor:  " 

Your  poem  is  a  striking  illustration  how  much 
poetry  there  is  in  the  commonest  objects,  provided 
one  has  the  skill  to  find  it  out. 

In  another  way,  the  novel  of  Christie  Johnstone 
exhibits  the  same.  That  divine  young  fish  woman  is 
one  of  the  freshest,  most  natural,  most  poetical,  and 
most  human  creatures  of  modern  times.  Thank 
heaven,  the  world  is  not  yet  exhausted.  The  earth  is 
as  fresh  as  ever  to  him  who  will  venture  to  touch  it 
with  his  bare  sole :  the  sea  is  as  blue  as  ever,  and  the 
breezes  are  as  delicious  as  ever,  to  all  who  will  meet 
them  half  way. 


Excuse  my  prosing.  I  once  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  you  personally;  I  have  often  met  you  in  the 
pages  of  your  books ;  and  I  am  always 

With  true  regard  yours, 

C.  C.  FELTON. 


To  bis  AMESBURY   NEIGHBORS  I 

Amesbury,  id  of  6th  month,  1856. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

Fearing  that  I  may  not  be  able  to  attend  the 
meeting  this  evening,  I  beg  leave,  through  thee,  to 
say  a  word  to  my  Fellow  Citizens.  I  need  not  say  how 
fully  I  sympathize  with  the  object  of  the  meeting,  nor 
speak  of  my  grief  for  the  sufferings  and  danger  of  a 
beloved  friend,  now  nearer  and  dearer  than  ever, 
stricken  down  at  his  post  of  duty  for  his  manly  de 
fence  of  Freedom ;  nor  of  my  mingled  pity,  horror  and 
indignation,  in  view  of  the  atrocities  in  Kansas.  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  no  time  for  the  indulgence  of  mere 
emotions.  Neither  wailing  nor  threats  befit  the  occa 
sion.  It  is  our  first  duty  to  enquire  why  it  is  that  the 
bad  men  in  power  have  been  emboldened  to  commit 
the  outrages  of  which  we  complain.  Why  is  it  that 
the  South  has  dared  to  make  such  experiments  upon 
us? 

To  my  mind  the  answer  is  plain.  The  North  is  not 
united  for  Freedom  as  the  South  is  for  Slavery.  We 
are  split  into  factions ;  we  get  up  paltry  side  issues  and 
quarrel  with  and  abuse  each  other;  and  the  Slave 
Power,  as  a  matter  of  course,  takes  advantage  of  our 
folly.  That  evil  power  is  only  strong  through  our  dis 
sensions.  It  could  do  nothing  against  a  united  North. 

1  This  letter  was  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Amesbury  and 
Salisbury  to  express  their  feelings  on  the  outrage  upon  the  Hon.  Charles 
Sumner  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 


The  one  indispensable  thing  for  us  is  UNION.  Can 
we  not  have  it?  Can  we  not  set  an  example  in  this 
very  neighborhood,  Whigs,  Democrats,  Free  Soilers 
and  Americans,  joining  hands  in  defence  of  our  com 
mon  liberties?  We  must  forget,  forgive,  and  unite.1  I 
feel  a  solemn  impression  that  the  present  opportunity 
is  the  last  that  will  be  offered  us  for  the  peaceful  and 
Constitutional  remedy  of  the  evil  which  afflicts  us. 
The  crisis  in  our  destiny  has  come;  the  hour  is  strik 
ing  of  our  final  and  irrevocable  choice.  God  grant  that 
it  may  be  rightfully  made. 

Let  us  not  be  betrayed  into  threats.  Leave  violence 
where  it  belongs,  with  the  wrong  doer.  It  is  worse 
than  folly  to  talk  of  fighting  slavery,  when  we  have 
not  yet  agreed  to  vote  against  it.  Our  business  is  with 
foil  boxes,  not  cartridge  boxes ;  with  ballots,  not  bullets. 
The  path  of  duty  is  plain ;  God's  providence  calls  us 
to  walk  in  it.  Let  me  close  by  repeating,  —  Forget, 
Forgive,  and  Unite. 

Thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

1  "  The  sentiment  expressed  in  the  letter  of  our  esteemed  fellow 
townsman,  John  G.  Whittier,  —  forgive,  forget  and  unite  —  seemed 
to  animate  all  minds."  Amesbury  Villager,  June  5,  1856. 


From   CHARLES    SUMNER 

Boston,  loth  Dec.  '56. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

Your  letter '  charmed  and  soothed  me.  Every 
day  I  thought  of  it,  and  chided  myself  for  letting  it 
go  unanswered.  Then  came  your  beautiful  poem  of 
peace2  depicting  a  true  conquest,  which  made  my 
pulse  beat  quick  and  my  eyes  moisten  with  tears. 
Truly  do  I  thank  you  for  that  generous  sympathy 
which  you  give  to  me,  and  also  to  mankind. 

At  last  we  may  see  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  our 
great  struggle.  The  North  seems  to  have  assumed  an 
attitude  which  it  cannot  abandon.  Meanwhile  our 
duty  is  clear,  to  scatter  everywhere  the  seeds  of  truth. 
Never  was  the  poet  needed  more  than  now,  and  the 
orator  too;  for  the  audiences  are  now  larger  and  more 

1  Whittier's  letter  to  Sumner  in  Appendix  J,  page  280. 
3  "Joseph  Sturge,  with  a  companion,  Thomas  Harvey,  has  been 
visiting  the  shores  of  Finland,  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  mischief  and 
loss  to  poor  and  peaceable  sufferers,  occasioned  by  the  gun-boats  of 
the  allied  squadrons  in  the  late  war,  with  a  view  to  obtaining  relief  for 
them." 

"  The  sunken  boats  of  fishers, 
The  foraged  beeves  and  grain, 
The  spoil  offtake  and  storehouse, 
The  good  ship  brings  again. 
And  so  to  Finland's  sorrow 
The  sweet  amend  is  made, 
As  if  the  healing  hand  of  Christ 
Upon  her  wounds  were  laid." 
««  The  Conquest  of  Finland"  and  note,  Poems,  377. 


attentive  than  ever.  No  opportunity  should  be  lost 
for  pressing  upon  the  public  mind  the  best  and  strong 
est  statements  of  our  cause  and  the  most  earnest  ex 
hortations  to  support  it. 

My  chief  sorrow  for  seven  months  of  seclusion  has 
been  that  I  have  been  shut  out  from  the  field  of  ac 
tion.  I  am  sad  now  that  I  am  discouraged  by  my 
physician  from  making  any  present  effort.  I  am  per 
mitted  to  take  my  seat  and  be  quiet.  My  purpose  is 
to  leave  here  for  Washington  very  soon.  What  I 
shall  do  there,  must  depend  on  my  health.  Oh  !  I 
long  to  speak  and  liberate  my  soul.  If  I  am  able  to 
speak,  as  I  desire,  I  think  that  I  shall  be  shot.  Very 
well;  I  am  content.  The  cause  will  live.  But  I  cannot 
bear  the  thought  that  I  may  survive  with  impaired 
powers,  or  with  a  perpetual  disability. 

If  I  live  till  March,  I  shall  hurry  to  Europe;  there 
in  travel  to  recruit  my  system  and  to  forget  that  I  am 
an  invalid.  Let  me  hear  from  you. 

Believe  me,  always  affectly  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 


From   JAMES   RUSSELL   LOWELL 


Cambridge,  io/£  Aug.  1857. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  write  to  you  in  behalf  of  the  editors  of  the 
new  Magazine  to  be  published  in  Boston,  to  ask  you 
to  contribute  to  it.  They  hope  to  have  you  for  a 
regular  contributor,  and  will  make  the  terms  of  pay 
ment  agreeable  to  yourself.  The  Mag.  I  understand 
will  be  a  free  one,  and  on  the  right  side.  Emerson, 
Longfellow,  Prescott,  Motley,  Holmes,  Hawthorne, 
Whipple  and  others  are,  /  know,  to  be  contributors. 
I  hope  that  no  engagements  will  stand  in  the  way  of 
your  writing  [for]  it. 

I  take  particular  pleasure  in  executing  this  commis 
sion,  because  it  gives  me  a  chance  to  thank  you  for  a 
poem  of  yours  (The  last  walk  in  Autumn)/  which 
gave  me  a  special  thrill  of  delight  —  so  much  so,  in 
deed,  that  I  thought  of  writing  to  you  at  the  time. 
Nor  let  me  forget  the  Sycamore  a  in  my  thanks. 

Should  you  send  anything,  address 

F.  H.  Underwood,  care  of  Phillips,  Sampson  & 
Co.,  Boston. 

Renewing  old  expressions  of  regard, 
I  remain, 

faithfully  yours, 

J.  R.  LOWELL. 

1   P*ms,  150.  *  Poems,  56. 


From   JAMES    RUSSELL    LOWELL 

Cambridge y  23  Jany.  1858. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

Till  Mr.  Underwood  told  me  last  evening  of 
your  note  to  him,  I  was  under  the  impression  that  I 
had  written  to  you.  I  devoted  a  forenoon  to  bringing 
up  my  correspondence,  and  you  were  on  my  list,  and 
how  it  came  that  I  neglected  you,  I  can  only  explain 
by  the  constant  distraction  of  the  printing-office.  I  am 

responsible  for  Maga ;  all  questions  are  brought 

to  me  about  corrections  and  the  like.  So  you  will  easily 
see  that  with  my  classes  and  recitations  in  College,  I 
am  pretty  thoroughly  employed.  So  do,  pray,  keep 
forgiving  me,  and  I  will  keep  promising  to  be  a  good 
boy.  What  I  tell  you  of  my  connection  with  Maga, 
is  confidential,  for  I  should  be  overwhelmed  by  young 
authors,  if  they  knew  anything  about  it. 

When  I  received  your  last  poem,  I  had  already  got 
in  type  another  poem  on  the  same  topic,  so  that  yours 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  therefore  the  more  reason 
that  I  should  have  written.  I  hold  out  my  hand  for 
the  ferule  like  a  man.  Do  let  your  writing  and  saying 
you  will  send  another  poem  soon,  be  my  punish 
ment. 

I  think  you  will  like  No.  4  almost  as  well  as  No  3. 
—  and  on  the  whole,  I  can't  help  feeling  that  we  have 
made  the  promise  of  a  good  magazine. 

Don't  you  ever  write  prose  nowadays  ?  Suppose 
you  try  your  hand  on  something  for  us.  You  see 


C  '3*3 

how   I    am   corrupted   already  and   begin  to  regard 
filling  up. 

On  reading  your  poem  over  again  in  print,  I  take 
back  what  I  said  about  its  being  long.  I  think  it  beauti 
ful  and  quite  short  enough.   I  don't  pretend  to  under 
stand  a  thing  fully  in  Ms ;  1  am  so  fagged. 
Ever  sincerely  yours, 

J.  R.  LOWELL. 


From    LEWIS   T  AFP  AN 

South  Woodstock,  Conn. 

ist  August,  1859. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

Mrs.  Bailey,  in  a  letter  just  recd  from  her,  says: 
"  If  I  can  carry  the  paper  (the  'Era ')  through  the 
next  year,  I  shall  have  no  fears  of  its  success.1  I  have 
written  to  Mr.  Whittier  to  urge  him  to  resume  his 
connection  with  the  paper.  Of  late,  it  has  been  merely 
nominal.  A  very  little  labor  on  his  part  would  be  of 
great  service  to  me,  and  I  shall  be  well  able  to  pay 
him  a  full  remuneration,  I  have  no  doubt.  If  you 
think  well  of  this,  will  it  be  too  great  a  favour  to  ask 
you  to  write  to  Mr.  Whittier  and  urge  or  ask  him  to 
help  me,  etc." 

I  am  sure  you  will  do  all  you  consistently  can,  to  aid 
Mrs.  Bailey.  How  far  your  health  and  engagements 
will  permit  you  to  render  the  assistance  she  desires,  I 
am  unable  to  say.  I  promised  to  write  to  you,  not 
to  "urge"  you  to  assume  any  additional  labor,  but 
to  say  how  agreeable  it  would  be  to  me  and  to  the 
numerous  friends  of  Dr.  Bailey  and  the  Era,  if  you 
could  resume  your  former  position  in  regard  to  the 
paper.  I  need  say  no  more.  Mrs.  Bailey  is  a  talented 
woman.  The  doctor3  put  great  confidence  in  her, 
and  she  has  been  an  able  assistant  to  him  throughout 

1  The  Era  suspended  March  22,  1860. 

2  Dr.  Gamaliel  Bailey  died  June  5,  1859.   In  the  Era,  July  7, 
1859,  is  Whittier' s  tribute:  — 

"The  future  historian  of  the  Anti-Slavery  movement  will  find  few 


C  134] 

his  editorial  career.  She  has  literary  taste  and  quali 
fications,  but  whether  her  political  knowledge  will  be 
sufficient  to  superintend  the  paper,  time  must  deter 
mine. 

On  the  whole,  I  think  it  best  to  enclose  her  note 
that  you  may  see  how  stedfast  she  seems  to  be  to  her 
husband's  principles.  I  hope  you  will  give  her  some 
good  advice. 

Allow  me  to  express  my  gratification  on  reading 
your  tribute  1  to  the  memory  of  our  departed  friend, 
Sturge,  in  the  "  Independent "  of  last  week.  I  read  in 
the  "Atlantic"  of  August,  "  My  Psalm."3  If  you 
wrote  that  exquisite  poem,  I  shall  treasure  it  as  one  of 
your  very  best,  and  if  some  other  person  wrote  it,  I 

nobler  pictures  for  his  canvas  than  that  of  the  slight  figure  of  the  Anti- 
Slavery  editor,  alone  with  his  family,  unarmed  and  unsupported  in  the 
heart  of  a  slave-holding  city  [Washington]  calmly  confronting  an 
armed  and  excited  multitude,  declaring  his  determination  to  live  and 
die  a  free  man,  and  to  speak  and  print  his  sentiments  freely  and  fully, 
subject  only  to  the  laws  of  his  country;  and  closing  with  an  appeal,  at 
once  touching  and  manly,  to  the  better  natures  of  his  opponents,  until 
threats  changed  to  cheers,  and  the  really  generous  but  misguided  popu 
lace  pressed  towards  him,  not  to  maltreat  or  intimidate,  but  to  shake 
the  hand  of  a  brave  and  honest  man." 

1   "  In  Remembrance  of  Joseph  Sturge,"  Poems,  199. 

2  "  I  mourn  no  more  my  vanished  years: 

Beneath  a  tender  rain, 
An  April  rain  of  smiles  and  tears, 
My  heart  is  young  again. 

"The  west- winds  blow,  and,  singing  low, 

I  hear  the  glad  streams  run; 
The  windows  of  my  soul  I  throw 
Wide  open  to  the  sun." 

"My  Psalm,"  Poems,  397. 


shall  consider  it  a  happy  imitation  of  your  choicest 

effusions.1  f 

faithfully  yours, 

L.  TAPPAN. 
I  expect  to  be  in  N.  Y.  soon. 

1  "The  practice  of  withholding  names  of  contributors  in  the  Atlantic 
continued  until  1862,  when  the  index  at  the  end  of  the  volume  dis 
closed  the  authorship  of  the  articles  in  the  body  of  the  magazine,  and 
in  1870  the  practice  was  begun  of  signing  contributions."  Scudder, 
Lowell,  i,  422. 


From    SALMON    P.    CHASE1 

Columbus,  Nov.  23,  1860. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

I  missed  no  gloves,  but  presume  those  left  at 
friend  Sparhawk's  were  mine.  I  am  gratified  that  you 
made  them  useful  to  the  cause  and  to  yourself. 

We  have  indeed  great  reason  to  rejoice;  for  the 
power  of  the  Slave  Interest  is  certainly  broken.  What 
use  will  be  made  of  the  victory,  does  not  so  clearly 
appear.  Some  indications  lead  me  to  apprehend  that 
the  wisest  and  best  use  will  not  be  made.  Great  ef 
forts  will  doubtless  be  put  forth  to  degrade  Republi 
canism  to  the  Compromise  level  of  1850. 

There  are  also  some  serious  dangers  on  the  disunion 
side.  I  have  always  regarded  the  Slavery  question  as 
the  crucial  test  of  our  institutions  ;  and  it  has  been  my 
hope  and  prayer  that  a  peaceful  settlement  of  this 
question  on  the  basis,  first,  of  denationalization,  and 
then  final  enfranchisement  through  voluntary  State 
action,  would  establish  beyond  all  dispute  the  superi 
ority  of  free  institutions,  and  the  capacity  of  a  free 
Christian  people  to  deal  with  every  evil  and  peril  lying 
in  the  path  of  its  progress. 

1  Of  Chase  Whittier  wrote  in  1873  (Prose  Worksy  ii,  278): 
"  The  grave  has  just  closed  over  all  that  was  mortal  of  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  the  kingliest  of  men,  a  statesman  second  to  no  other  in  our 
history,  too  great  and  pure  for  the  Presidency,  yet  leaving  behind  him 
a  record  which  any  incumbent  of  that  station  might  envy." 

The  letter  is  marked  "  Private  and  Confidential,"  but  the  occasion 
for  such  ceased  long  ago.  It  illustrates  the  difficult  situation  that  had 
to  be  faced  after  the  election  of  Lincoln. 


• 


[ 

To  this  end,  all  needless  irritation  should  be  care 
fully  avoided,  and  much  forbearance  exercised.  The 
citizens  of  the  Free  States  have  now  to  suffer  injuries, 
when  travelling  or  temporarily  sojourning  in  Slave 
States,  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances  and  upon 
common  principles,  would,  as  between  independent 
sovereignties,  justify  extreme  measures.  If  extreme 
measures  are  not  resorted  .to,  it  is  because  the  people 
of  the  Free  States  love  the  Union  and  prefer  to  for 
bear.  And  this  is  right. 

On  the  other  hand,  however,  the  Slave  States  have, 
regarding  matters  from  their  standpoint,  some  just 
causes  of  complaint.  The  slaveholders  undoubtedly 
think  that  they  have  a  right  to  take  their  slaves,  as 
property,  into  the  territories  and  be  protected  in  hold 
ing  them  by  Federal  power,  and  nearly  all  jurists  and 
statesmen,  North  and  South,  are  agreed  that  the  Fugi 
tive  Servant  Clause  of  the  Constitution  entitles  them 
to  have  their  fugitive  slaves  delivered  up  on  claim. 
The  Republicans  insist,  however,  that  the  first  de 
mand  is  not  well  founded  in  the  Constitution,  while 
some  propose  what  they  call  a  reasonable  Fugitive  Act 
in  satisfaction  of  the  second,  and  others,  still,  refuse  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  the  returning  of  fugitives, 
Constitution  or  no  Constitution. 

Now  two  facts  seem  clear  to  me ;  first,  that  the  Con 
stitution  was  intended  to  create,  and  fairly  construed, 
does  create  an  obligation,  so  far  as  human  compacts 
can,  to  surrender  fugitives  from  service ;  and  secondly, 
that  in  the  progress  of  civilization  and  Christian  hu 
manity  it  has  become  impossible  that  this  obligation 
shall  be  fulfilled.  With  my  sentiments  and  convic 
tions,  I  could  no  more  participate  in  the  seizure  and 


[  '38] 

surrender  to  slavery  of  a  human  being,  than  I  could 
in  cannibalism.  Still  there  stands  the  compact :  and 
there  in  the  Slave  States  are  fellow  citizens,  who  verily 
believe  otherwise  than  I  do,  and  who  insist  on  its  ful 
filment  and  complain  of  bad  faith  in  its  nonfulfillment: 
and  in  a  matter  of  compact  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  sub 
stitute  my  convictions  for  theirs. 

What  then  to  do  ?  Just  here  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  principle  of  compensation  may  be  admitted.  We 
may  say,  true  there  is  the  compact — true,  we  of  the 
Free  States  cannot  execute  it —  but  we  will  prove  to 
you  that  we  will  act  in  good  faith  by  redeeming  our 
selves  through  compensation  from  an  obligation  which 
our  consciences  do  not  permit  us  to  fulfil.  Mr.  Rhett 
of  S.  C.  once  very  manfully  denounced  the  Fugitive 
Act  as  unconstitutional,  but  still  insisted  on  the  Con 
stitutional  obligation  which  he  summed  up  in  these 
words  "Surrender  or  Pay."  Now,  if  we  say  we  can 
not  surrender,  but  we  will  pay,  shall  we  not  command 
the  highest  respect  for  our  principles,  and  do  a  great 
deal  towards  securing  the  final  peaceful  and  glorious 
result  which  we  all  so  much  desire  ? 

There  would  be  some  difficulties  of  detail,  if  the 
principle  were  adopted  ;  but  none  insuperable. 

There  is  still  another  plan  of  adjustment  which 
might  be  adopted,  though  I  fear  that,  in  the  Slave 
States,  and  perhaps  in  the  Free  States,  it  would  meet 
with  greater  objection.  It  would  consist  in  amendments 
of  the  Constitution  by  which  the  Slave  States  would 
give  up  the  Fugitive  Slave  Clause  altogether,  and  the 
Free  States  would  agree  to  a  representation  in  Con 
gress  of  the  whole  population,  abrogating  the  three 
fifths  rule.  One  advantage  of  this  would  be  that  the 


C 

Constitution  would  be  freed  from  all  discriminations 
between  persons,  and  would  contain  nothing  which 
could,  by  any  implication,  be  tortured  into  a  recog 
nition  of  Slavery.  Will  you  think  over  these  matters 
carefully  and  give  me  your  ideas  upon  them  ? 

I  have  written  in  much  haste,  but  I  think  you  will 
understand  me.  What  I  have  written  is  too  crudely 
expressed  for  any  but  friendly  eyes ;  and  I  hope  that 
you  will  let  nobody  see  this  letter,  except  if  you  think 
fit,  our  friend  Sparhawk  and  your  sister. 

Affectionately  and  faithfully  yours, 

S.  P.  CHASE. 
JOHN  G.  WHITTIER 


From   CHARLES   SUMNER 

Senate  Chamber. 

^th  Feb.  '6 i. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  deplored  S's  speech,1  I8t  and  2nd.  The  first 
he  read  to  me,  and  I  supplicated  him  not  to  make  it. 
The  true-hearted  here  have  been  filled  with  grief  and 
mortification. 

People  are  anxious  to  save  our  forts,  to  save  our 
Nat.  Capitol ;  but  I  am  more  anxious  far  to  save  our 
principle  which  leaders  now  propose  to  abandon,  as 
Mr.  Buchanan  proposes  to  abandon  Fort  Sumpter ! 
The  public  pride  averted  the  latter ;  I  hope  that  the 
public  conscience  may  avert  the  former.  My  old  say 
ing  is  revived  in  my  mind,  Backbone.  This  especially 
is  needed  here.  If  saved,  it  will  be  by  events,  and  not 
by  men.  The  inordinate  demand  of  the  Slave  States 
will  make  it  next  to  impossible  to  appease  them.  Even 
compromises  cannot  go  so  far.  If  they  asked  less,  we 
should  be  lost. 

Pray   keep   Massachusetts  firm   and   strong.    She 

1  ««  On  the  i  zth  of  January,  1861,  Mr.  Seward  delivered  in  the 
Senate  Chamber  a  speech  on  The  State  of  the  Union,  in  which  he 
urged  the  paramount  duty  of  preserving  the  Union,  and  went  as  far  as 
it  was  possible  to  go,  without  surrender  of  principles,  in  concessions  to 
the  Southern  party." 

"Statesman,  I  thank  thee  and,  if  yet  dissent 
Mingles,  reluctant,  with  my  large  content, 
I  cannot  censure  what  was  nobly  meant." 
"To  William  H.  Seward  "  and  note,  Poems,  332. 


[  HI  ] 

must  not  touch  a  word  of  her  Personal  Lib? '  Laws. 
The  slightest  act  of  surrender  by  her  would  be  a  signal 
for  the  abasement  of  the  Free  States.  God  bless  you  ! 

Ever  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 

1  Laws  prescribing  proceedings  under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 
Governor  Andrew  in  his  inaugural,  January,  1861,  called  attention  to 
the  comment  that  some  provisions  of  Massachusetts  law  might  be  in 
conflict  with  the  U.  S.  Constitution.  Chapter  9 1  of  the  Acts  of  1 86 1 , 
concerning  habeas  corpus  and  personal  liberty,  was  passed  in  March, 
by  which,  though  some  modifications  were  made  in  response  to  the 
demand  for  amendments,  the  whole  was  strengthened  and  the  return 
of  fugitives  made  more  difficult.  Fortunately  no  occasion  arose  to  test 
its  provisions. 


From   THOMAS   STARR   KING1 

San  Francisco, 

Feb.  ijy  1862. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  WHITTIER: 

All  good  Quakers  think  it  wrong  to  resist  the 
inward  urgency  and  stress  of  the  Spirit.  I  am  so  far  a 
Quaker  as  to  share  their  belief  that  it  is  sin  to  offer 
any  private  obstruction,  either  of  laziness  or  timidity, 
to  the  impulse  or  voice  which  says  "  Bear  witness  to 
the  truth ! " 

Your  Port  Royal   poem 2  and   hymn  is  so  noble 

1  A  photograph  of  King  still  hangs  in  the  ''Garden  Room"  at 
Amesbury  with  those  of  Longfellow,  Beecher,  Emerson,  and  Garrison. 
King  ( 1 824-1 864)  was  minister  at  Hollis  Street  Church,  Boston,  1 848 
to  1860,  and  afterwards,  until  his  death,  at  San  Francisco,  where  he 
was  a  power  for  the  Union. 

"When  we  say  that  King  kept  California  strong  for  the  Union,  we 
do  not  mean  that  he  simply  was  the  eloquent  voice  through  which  the 
general  Union  sentiment  found  expression,  but  that  he  guided  Union 
opinion;  that  he  both  anticipated  and  defended  the  measures  which 
eventually  made  the  cause  of  the  Union  successful.  He  became  a  power 
in  California,  because  he  had  the  sagacity  to  detect,  and  the  intrepidity 
to  denounce,  the  treason  which  skulked  under  loyal  phrases  and  catch 
words;  and  his  influence  was  measured,  not  by  his  bursts  of  declama 
tory  eloquence  on  the  blessings  of  union,  but  by  the  skill  with  which 
he  took  the  people,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  hands  of  disloyal  politicians, 
and  induced  them  to  give  their  vigorous  support  to  the  administration 
of  the  National  government."  —  Introduction  by  E.  P.  Whipple  to 
Substance  and  Shadow,  by  T.  S.  King. 

3  "At  Port  Royal,"  Whittier,  Poems,  337,  and  "Mason  and 
Slidell,  a  Yankee  Idyl,"  Lowell,  Poems,  228,  were  both  in  the  At 
lantic,  February,  1862. 


and  sweet  that  everybody,  who  has  been  as  deeply 
moved  by  it  as  I  have,  ought  to  thank  you,  even  at 
the  risk  of  offending  you  by  intrusive  compliment. 
But  the  edge  of  the  Pacific  is  so  far  off  that  we  can 
take  liberties,  knowing  that  the  blush  does  n't  come 
till  four  weeks  after  the  offence. 

I  have  seen,  with  joy  here,  the  response  to  your 
hymn,  and  in  quarters  which  prove  to  us  that  we  live 
in  a  different  moral  stratum  from  our  abode  of  two 
years  ago.  I  have  read  it  to  several  friends  who  were 
fitly  moved,  showing  that  the  air  of  civilization  ex 
tends  as  far  West  now  as  California.  But  what  do  you 
say  to  the  news  that  U.  S.  officials,  not  knowing  the 
author,  have  come  to  me  to  ask  who  could  have  writ 
ten  it,  and  to  say  that  they  had  copied  it  and  committed 
it  to  memory  ?  Such  is  the  fact.  Our  Postmaster  here 
repeats  a  verse  every  time  I  go  into  his  office.  Our 
Collector  delights  in  it ;  and  yesterday  the  U.  S.  Land 
Surveyor,  Col.  Beale,  stopped  me  in  the  street,  to 
inquire  who  the  author  was,  and  to  say  that  he  had 
written  it  off  from  memory  at  his  official  desk  that 
day.  Does  not  the  world  move  ?  Ah,  yes,  and  do  not 
poets  help  it  ? 

It  strikes  me  as  very  singular  that  one  number  of 
the  "Atlantic"  should  contain  such  powerful  testi 
mony  to  the  poetic  capacities  of  our  Yankee  and 
Negro  patois  as  the  "Idyl"  by  Hosea  Biglow,  and 
your  poem  (which  I  call  "  Habakkuk  and  honey  ") 
offer.  Heaven  preserve  both  our  Burnses  for  long 
service,  until  their  spirit  bursts  from  our  whole  con 
stitution  and  code ! 

I  must  tell  you  one  other  fact.  Two  or  three  weeks 
ago,  there  was  an  immense  gathering  in  the  largest  hall 


[   '44  ] 

of  our  city,  on  the  anniversary  of  our  Orphan  Asylum 
Association,  which  is  supported  entirely  by  private 
bounty.  I  delivered  the  address.  The  community  had 
been  scoured  for  money  for  the  sufferers  by  the  Sac 
ramento  flood  in  the  interior,  for  whom,  in  four 
weeks,  we  had  raised  sixty  thousand  dollars.  It  was 
decided  to  take  up  a  collection  after  the  address,  in 
the  hope  of  getting  three  hundred  dollars,  the  amount 
taken  last  year.  I  spoke  forty  minutes,  told  the  people 
that  we  must  give,  even  if  our  pockets  were  empty 
and  closed  with  a  recitation  of  a  certain  poem  about 
Tritemius  x  of  Herbipolis  and  the  candlesticks.  You 
might  have  heard  the  applause  in  Amesbury,  and 
we  took  nearly  seven  hundred  dollars  in  five  minutes 
after  the  last  line  was  read.  So  you  are  credited  in 
heaven  with  a  large  subscription  to  our  orphan  fund. 

Am  I  wrong  in  telling  you  these  things  ?  I  don't 
believe  it.  Men  ought  to  know  when  they  do  good. 
It  makes  them  humble  and  grateful. 

What  is  to  be  the  issue  of  our  victories  ?  I  tremble 
lest  the  uncircumcised  triumph  still  in  the  settlement. 
It  looks  to  me  as  though  the  little  finger  of  the  Bor 
der  State  is  to  be  thicker  than  our  loins.  But  God  is 
not  to  be  cheated.  And  if  our  bayonets  spare  the 
slave-code,  his  lightning  is  not  to  be  so  merciful.  I 
watch  Congress  now  more  intensely  than  Burnside 
and  Halleck.  Nashville  has  fallen  ;  when  will  the  Bas- 
tile  fall  ?  I  have  tried  to  do  a  little  here  for  the  good 

1  "The  Gift  of  Tritemius/'  Poems,  54;  the  first  of  Whittier's 
contributions  to  the  Atlantic.  King  knew  that  Whittier  would  remem 
ber  a  previous  occasion  when  King  had  read  most  effectively  the  long 
poem,  "The  Panorama"  (Poems,  323),  at  the  opening  of  a  lecture 
course  in  Tremont  Temple,  Boston,  in  the  exciting  days  of  1856. 


cause.  But  you  poets  are  the  statesmen  now.  God 
bless  all  of  you,  and  you  as  you  deserve  !  Your  grate 
ful  friend, 

TH.   STARR  KING. 

I  look  out  from  my  window  upon  hills  brilliant 
with  Spring.  The  green  is  brighter  than  any  ever  seen 
in  New  England.  We  take  our  verdure  in  winter. 


From   LYDIA    MARIA   CHILD1 

Wayland,  June  iytb,  1864. 
FRIEND  WHITTIER: 

I  am  preparing  a  book  for  the  Freedmen,2 
which  I  hope  will  sow  seed  that  will  ripen  into  har 
vests,  years  after  I  am  gone.  Our  literature  is  not 
adapted  to  their  condition.  I  want  to  give  them  good 
moral  instruction  in  a  simple,  attractive  form ;  to  en 
courage  them  by  presenting  honorable  examples  of 
what  has  been  done  by  people  of  color ;  and  to  infuse 
kindly  feelings  toward  their  former  masters. 

I  am  desirous  to  insert  the  Christmas  Hymn  3  you 
wrote  for  the  freed  children  at  Port  Royal.  I  have 
hunted  the  newspapers  for  it  in  vain.  Have  you  a 
newspaper  containing  it,  which  you  could  either  give 
me,  or  lend  me?  If  you  have,  and  will  send  it  to  me, 

1  Mr.  Whittier  often  remarked  that  Mrs.  Child  was  ostracised  in 
the  early  days  on  account  of  her  anti-slavery  principles.  "  No  woman 
in  this  country,"  said  he,  "has  sacrificed  so  much  for  principle  as 
Mrs.  Child.  She  gave  promise  in  early  life  of  great  literary  ability, 
but  when  she  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Abolitionists  she  found  no 
market  for  her  books  and  essays,  and  her  praises  were  suddenly  si 
lenced.  "-—  Claflin,  Wbittier,%o. 

a  Freedmen' s  Book  by  Lydia  Maria  Child,  1865. 

3   ««  Oh,  none  in  all  the  world  before 

Were  ever  glad  as  we! 
We  're  free  on  Carolina's  shore, 
We're  all  at  home  and  free." 

"  Hymn,  sung  at  Christmas  by  the  Scholars  of  St.  Helena's  Island, 
S.  C.,"  Poems,  340. 


I  shall  feel  greatly  obliged.  If  any  word  of  advice 
occurs  to  you  concerning  the  book,  I  should  be  thank 
ful  to  receive  it.  My  object  is  to  do  the  poor  crea 
tures  the  greatest  good  I  can.  I  shall  take  no  com 
pensation  for  the  work  I  do.  I  shall  put  it  to  them  at 
a  low  price,  and  give  them  the  money,  to  be  placed 
in  the  hands  of  trustees  among  themselves,  of  their 
own  choosing,  to  be  expended  for  libraries.  This  mode 
of  proceeding  will,  I  think,  promote  self-respect  and 
self-reliance  among  them. 

How  sorry  I  was  that  the  proposed  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  was  defeated !  Oh,  that  wicked 
Democratic  Party  !  How  heartless  and  unprincipled 
it  is  !  It  is  some  comfort  that  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
is  repealed.  I  am  thankful  to  have  lived  to  see  that 
iniquity  overturned. 

I  am  exceedingly  sorry  for  the  course  Wendell 
Phillips  is  pursuing.  I  think  he  is  making  a  great  mis 
take.  Since  Fremont  has  written  a  letter,  so  obviously 
courting  the  Copperheads,  I  don't  see  how  he  can 
stand  by  him.  I  should  think  the  comparison  between 
his  letter  and  the  letters  of  honest  Abe  and  Andy 
Johnson,  would  put  him  to  his  thoughts.  I  chuckled 
over  Andy  Johnson's  letter.  It  will  delight  me  to  have 
a  rail-splitter  for  President,  and  a  tailor  for  Vice  Presi 
dent.  I  hope  the  time  will  come  when  we  shall  have 
a  shoe-black  for  Secretary  of  State,  and  more  worthy  \ 
of  the  position  than  the  present  incumbent.  I  have  a 
living  faith  in  Republican  Institutions. 

As  for  Fremont,  I  have  never  entirely  trusted  him. 
In  1856,  I  wanted  him  to  succeed,  because  the  choice 
was  between  him  and  that  unmitigated  scoundrel, 
Buchanan.  But  Fremont's  career  in  Mexico  then 


[   H8  ] 

excited  misgivings  in  my  mind.  He  was  a  filibuster, 
and  one  of  a  worse  stamp  than  common.  He  went 
professedly  on  a  scientific  exploring  expedition.  The 
Mexicans  treated  him  and  his  company  with  hospital 
ity,  kindness,  and  confidence;  but  he  got  up  a  fight 
with  them  without  provocation,  before  war  was  de 
clared  by  the  government;  and  I  have  no  doubt  he 
did  it  in  obedience  to  secret  instructions  from  the  Slave 
Power,  who  contrived  the  so-called  Exploring  Expe 
dition  as  a  mere  farce.  When  he  issued  his  Proclama 
tion  of  Freedom,1  my  enthusiasm,  for  the  first  time, 
was  kindled  in  his  favor.  But  I  have  not  liked  his 
conduct  since  he  was  removed  from  that  command. 
It  has  not  been  manly  and  noble.  When  Burnside 
was  removed,  he  said,  "  Give  me  any  situation.  Let 
me  serve  my  country  in  some  subordinate  capacity." 
But  Fremont  has  been  talking  about  his  dignity  and 
his  personal  piques  ;  he  has  been  receiving  the  pay  of 
a  General,  and  doing  nothing  for  the  country  in  her 

1  On  the  3  ist  of  August,  1861,  General  Fremont,  then  in  charge 
of  the  Western  Department,  issued  a  proclamation  which  contained 
a  clause,  famous  as  the  first  announcement  of  emancipation  :  "The 
property,"  it  declared,  "  real  and  personal,  of  all  persons  in  the  State 
of  Missouri,  who  shall  take  up  arms  against  the  United  States,  or  who 
shall  be  directly  proven  to  have  taken  active  part  with  their  enemies 
in  the  field,  is  declared  to  be  confiscated  to  the  public  use  ;  and  their 
slaves,  if  any  they  have,  are  hereby  declared  free  men."  Mr.  Lin 
coln  regarded  the  proclamation  as  premature  and  countermanded  it, 
after  vainly  endeavoring  to  persuade  Fremont  of  his  own  motion  to 
revoke  it. 

"  Thy  error,  Fremont,  simply  was  to  act 

A  brave  man's  part,  without  the  statesman's  tact, 
And,  taking  counsel  but  of  common  sense, 
To  strike  at  cause  as  well  as  consequence." 

"To  John  C.  Fremont"  and  note,  Poems,  335. 


[  H9  1 

hour  of  extreme  need.  Assuredly,  he  is  not  a  great 
man.  /  do  not  believe  he  is  a  reliable  one.  I  do  hope 
Wendell  Phillips  will  face  about. 

If  you  and  your  sister  come  to  Boston  again,  please 
let  me  know,  that  I  may  contrive  to  see  you.  With 
affectionate  remembrance  to  her,  I  am 

Your  friend  of  old  time, 

L.  MARIA  CHILD. 

To  think  of  a  mulatto  girl  writing  such  beautiful 
articles  for  the  Atlantic  Monthly!1  How  the  wheel 
of  fortune  has  turned  round  ! 

Have  you  among  your  papers  an  anecdote  of  Tous- 
saint  L'Ouverture,  who  saved  the  life  of  a  young  Eng 
lishman,  whom  his  followers  were  eager  to  have  exe 
cuted  ?  He  said,  "Let  us  send  him  to  his  mother. 
His  death  would  break  her  heart."  I  can't  find  the 
anecdote,  and  I  want  it  for  my  book. 

1  Mrs.  Child  was  not  aware  that  the  Christmas  Hymn,  above 
cited,  had  been  written  by  Whittier  at  the  request  of  Charlotte  Forten, 
later  Mrs.  Francis  J.  Grimke,  whose  two  articles  on  "  Life  on  the 
Sea  Islands "  were  then  appearing  in  the  Atlantic. 


From   THOMAS    WENTWORTH 
HIGGINSON 

Worcester^  Mass.  Oct.  10,  1864. 
DEAR  FRIEND: 

I  have  often  thought  of  writing  to  you,  since 
the  great  event/  and  will  do  so,  however  little  I  can 
say.  I  remember,  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  the  happy 
hours  I  have  spent  at  your  house  with  your  mother 
and  sister  and  yourself.  Your  sister  was  the  central 
figure;  I  never  can  forget  her  cordial  kindness,  nor 
her  brilliancy  in  talk,  nor  the  courage  and  truthfulness 
that  gleamed  behind  her  wildest  sallies.  I  have  often 
thought  since,  that  I  had  scarcely  met  her  equal  in  the 
quick  interchange  of  salient  thought.  She  roused  and 
taxed  my  wits,  I  thought,  more  than  any  one  I  met ; 
it  needed  full  resources  to  keep  up  with  her.  I  re 
member  the  peculiar  dancing  look  in  her  full  dark 
eyes  and  a  gay  little  threatening  motion  of  the  head, 
when  some  bold  words  were  coming.  But  it  always 
was  on  the  side  of  truth  and  right,  everything  she 
said,  nothing  that  could  wound.  I  used  to  wonder 
how  she  gained  in  her  Friend's  training  and  invalid 
life,  that  conversational  esprit  which  seemed  rather  to 
suggest  a  French  salon.  I  recall  now  the  glancing  way 
in  which,  with  a  word,  she  characterized  certain  per 
sons  in  our  small  circle,  or  in  the  world  outside,  and 
that  I  have  found  no  better  formula  for  them  since, 
than  her  stray  words  gave.  Her  few  verses  show  the 
same  directness  and  penetration.  I  speak  of  her  as  I 

1  Elizabeth  Whittier  died  September  3,  1864. 


[  '5'  ] 

saw  her,  knowing  how  limited  my  view  was,  and  what 
other  and  higher  attributes  you  knew  in  your  long 
and  beautiful  twinship.  Surely  these  partings,  as  well 
as  these  presences,  enrich  our  life,  and  are  as  much  a 
part  of  our  spiritual  education  as  any  joys  ;  and  this 
must  add  something  to  the  thoughtful  reverence  with 
which  you  have  always  looked  upon  the  great  Beyond. 

It  is  long  since  I  have  seen  you  ;  not  since  we  met 
here  at  Edward  Earle's,1  I  think.  I  used  to  talk  of 
you  with  that  other  noble  and  gifted  friend,  not  long 
for  this  world  I  think,  Charlotte  Forten.  There  was 
so  much  in  our  lives  in  South  Carolina  that  would 
have  interested  you  ;  and  she  did  not  tell  in  her  nar 
rative  how  the  distrust,  with  which  the  Negroes  at 
first  regarded  her,  yielded  to  her  winning  ways. 

My  health  is  poor,  though  gaining.  I  was  wounded, 
a  year  ago,  on  an  expedition  up  the  South  Edisto, 
when  we  brought  away  200  slaves  from  the  rice  fields. 
I  have  never  been  well  since  and  have  now  resigned, 
though  it  is  not  yet  accepted.  We  go,  in  about  a  fort 
night,  to  take  up  our  abode  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  where 
we  expect  to  live ;  my  wife  wintered  there  last  year 
with  great  benefit ;  the  winter  climate  is  so  very  mild. 
We  live  with  the  Dames,  good  Friends  in  every  sense. 
Newport  is  one  of  the  Meccas  of  your  Society;  how 
pleasant  it  would  be  to  us  if  you  would  come  there 
to  live.  My  wife  desires  her  regard  and  sympathies 
and  echoes  the  wish. 

Ever  cordially  your  friend, 

T.  W.   HlGGINSON. 

1  "  Edward  Earle  of  Worcester  was  the  ablest  and  most  justly 
influential  of  the  Friends'  Society."  Higginson,  Whit  tier,  121. 


From   DOROTHEA    L.   DIX1 

Office  of  Women  Nurses, 

U.  S.  Hospital  Service,  Washington  D.  C. 

January  iith  1865. 

To  J.  G.  WHITTIER,  Esgr 

Sir;  Lately  being  in  Frederick  City  on  Hos 
pital  Inspection,  I  learned  some  facts  concerning 
"  Barbara  Frietchie,"  whose  name  is  almost  immortal 
ized  in  your  patriotic  poem, 

"  Up  from  the  meadows  rich  with  corn  " ; 

and  I  obtained  from  a  member  of  her  family  the 
carte2  which  I  enclose,  believing  if  you  do  not  already 
possess  it,  you  will  be  gratified  to  receive  what  is  said 
by  her  friends  to  be  a  very  excellent  likeness. 

Barbara  Frietchie  had  not  become  disabled  from 

1  Miss  Dix  (i  805-1 887)  "  refused  point-blank  "  to  acknowledge 
publicly  that  she  told  S.  M.  Pel  ton,  President  of  the  Philadelphia  and 
Baltimore  R.  R.,  about  the  plots  at  Baltimore  against  Lincoln.   Act 
ing  on  this  information,  he  made  the  elaborate  preparations  which  en 
sured  Lincoln's  safety  on  the  journey  from  Philadelphia  to  Washington 
for  his  first  inauguration. 

During  the  war  she  served  as  Superintendent  of  Women  Nurses, 
in  which  capacity  her  long  experience  in  hospital  work  was  of  great 
use.  Tiffany,  Life  of  Dorothea  L.  Dix,  333;  Nicolay  and  Hay, 
Lincoln,  iii,  xx. 

2  To  one  of  many  friends  who  asked  him  if  Barbara  was  a  myth, 
Whittier  answered  in  a  letter,  dated  October  19,  1860:   "I  had  a 
portrait  of  the  good  Lady  Barbara  from  the  saintly  hand  of  Dorothea 
Dix,  whose  life  is  spent  in  works  of  love  and  duty.   .   .   .  * ' 

Pickard,  Whit  tier,  458. 

In  Barbara  Fritcbie,  a  Study,  by  Caroline  H.  Dall  (1892),  the 
story  of  the  "  good  lady  "  is  given  in  detail.  The  form  Fritchie  accords 
with  the  inscription  on  her  headstone. 


[  '53] 

performing  many  duties  and  pleasant  offices  of  life, 
though  of  so  advanced  years.  Till  a  few  weeks  before 
her  decease,  she  prepared  delicacies  for  sick  soldiers 
in  the  Hospitals.  Knitting  was  a  favorite  employ 
ment.  Her  house  was  a  model  of  order,  and  neat 
habits  had  always  characterized  her  domestic  life.  She 
was  remarkably  fond  of  her  garden,  and  was  singu 
larly  successful  in  the  cultivation  of  flowers,  of  which 
she  had  the  earliest  and  finest  varieties.  Indeed  when 
ever,  on  festive  occasions,  choice  flowers  were  in  re 
quest,  "Aunt  Barbara's  "  liberal  hand  bestowed  the 
most  beautiful  and  fragrant. 

She  was  fond  of  children  —  but  she  expected  they 
should  regard  her  orders.  I  fear  [not  any]  who  were 
unruly,  or  who  failed  to  regard  her  cleanly  scoured 
floors,  could  expect  the  nice  cakes  and  apples  she  held 
in  store  to  dispense  to  all  "  good  boys  and  girls.'*  She 
received  her  relatives  and  friends  on  her  last  birthday, 
presenting  in  the  old  fashion  nuts,  cakes  and  wine. 

To  the  last,  she  testified  in  inspiring  terms  her  ab 
horrence  of  Treason  and  Traitors;  she  walked  "rest 
ing  upon  a  staff,"  and  carried  an  air  of  dignified  ven 
erable  age,  always  respected.  She  is  remembered  with 
affection,  and  those  who  had  known  her  intimately  for 
half  a  century  and  more,  were  her  most  devoted  friends. 

I  have  nothing  to  add  more  of  this  remarkable  wo 
man,  but  in  conclusion,  I  desire  to  express  to  you  my 
sentiments  of  respect,  and  to  acknowledge  myself 
long  your  debtor  in  the  instruction  and  enjoyment 
derived  from  your  poetical  books. 
D.  L.  Dix 

Superintendent 

U.  S.  Hospital  Nurses. 


From   OLIVER   WENDELL   HOLMES 

Boston,  Aug.  isfy  1865. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  WHITTIER  : 

Here  is  one  of  those  everyday  miracles,  — 
eight  pages  from  an  amie  inconnue  who  has  nothing 
to  say,  except  indeed  in  her  last  paragraphs,  where 
she  praises  you  so  heartily  that  you  must  see  it. 
When  you  have  read  it,  you  may  return  it,  if  you 
please,  to  go  into  my  private  collection  of  letters  from 
unseen  women.  I  suppose  you  are  wise  enough  to 
burn  yours,  else  you  must  have  a  mountain  of  them. 
I  write  also,  as  I  have  just  done  to  Longfellow,  to 
ask  whether  you  mean  or  not  to  write  for  something 
our  Boston  Mercantile  Library  Association  is  getting 
up  for  their  fair.  They  tell  me  they  have  asked  your 
self,  Longfellow,  Read,  Baker,  Saxe  and  myself.  I 
don't  like  such  requests.  I  hate  to  dribble  away  what 
little  show  of  thought  or  sentiment  there  may  be  in 
me.  But  if  everybody  writes,  I  suppose  I  must.  I 
wish  I  were  better  at  saying  No !  the  hero's  mono 
syllable. 

Very  truly  yours, 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 

Read  my  postscript. 

I  came  within  a  hair's  breadth  of  forgetting  to  say 
with  what  delight  I  read  your  poem,  "  The  Change 
ling,"  —  was  it  not  ?  —  the  one  where  the  mother 
thought  her  child  was  bewitched.  I  think  this  and 
"  The  Wreck  of  Rivermouth  "  have  more  atmosphere 


and  a  tenderer  light  in  them  than  anything  you  have 
written,1  I  am  tempted  to  say,  but  I  will  not  be  rash. 
I  meant  to  have  written  just  after  reading  the  "Change 
ling,"  and  I  am  glad  of  a  chance  to  tell  you  how  sweet 
and  tender  it  seems  to  me. 

Yours  again  always, 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 

1  "The  Changeling,"  Poems,  251,  appeared  in  Atlantic,  July, 
1865.  "  The  Wreck  of  Rivermouth,"  Poems,  245,  was  published 
in  1864. 


From   COLONEL   JULIAN   ALLEN1 

New  Torky  Mar.  31  66. 
JNO.  G.  WHITTIER,  Esq., 

Amesbury. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND: 

My  feelings  you  may  better  imagine  than  I  can 
express  them,  on  the  receipt  of  a  noble  letter  from 
that  kind  and  true  soul,  Hon.  C.  M.  Clay,  with  the 
welcome  announcement  of  the  gracious  decision  of 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  Alexander,  liberating  my 
brother  and  allowing  him  to  come  to  this  country, 
such  as  has  never  before  been  shown  to  any  other; 
and  I  shall  be  your  debtor  all  the  rest  of  my  life.  I 
positively  believe  that  your  letter  to  our  friend  Mr. 
Clay,  did  secure  his  full  sympathy  in  my  brother's 
case.  I  sent  to  you  a  copy  of  the  New  York  Times, 
but  the  full  letter  of  Mr.  Clay  was  not  published.  As 

1  Colonel  Julian  Allen  was  a  Pole  of  noble  birth  who  had  escaped 
arrest,  while  a  student  in  Poland,  by  flight  to  this  country,  an  account 
of  which  he  published  in  Autocrasy  [sic]  in  Poland  (New  York, 
1854).  He  later  married  a  relative  of  Whittier.  In  January,  1865, 
he  received  a  formal  resolution  of  thanks  from  the  citizens  of  Savan 
nah  (War  Record  I.  xlvii,  Pt.  II,  169)  "for  his  kindness  in  offer 
ing  to  advance  the  funds,  and  to  make  purchases  for  the  corporate 
authorities  of  the  city  of  Savannah  until  he  could  be  reimbursed  by 
shipments  of  rice,  and  also  for  his  philanthropic  exertions  in  bringing 
to  the  notice  of  citizens  of  New  York  and  Boston  the  destitute  condi 
tion  of  our  people  of  which  he  became  personally  cognizant  while 
among  us."  He  was  an  agent  of  the  U.  S.  Treasury  in  Savannah. 
In  Boston  alone  thirty- three  thousand  dollars  was  subscribed  and  a 
steamboat  load  of  provisions  sent. 


C  '57] 

per  enclosed  copy,  you  will  see  that  he  kindly  wishes 
to  be  remembered  to  you  and  says  that  it  gave  him 
pleasure  to  oblige  you.  My  wife  joins  in  sending  love 
to  you.  When  shall  we  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  at  our  house  ? 

Your  Friend  and  Servant, 

JULIAN  ALLEN. 

Copy: 

St.  Petersburg, 

February  1866. 
To  THE  MINISTER: 

In  reply  to  the  letter  which  you  addressed  to 
me  of  the  2/14  of  February ;  it  becomes  my  duty  to 
inform  you  that  the  petition  which  it  contained  on  the 
subject  of  Sir  Michel  Meyendorff,  having  been  sub 
mitted  to  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor,  my  august  mas 
ter  has  deigned  to  order  as  a  mark  of  exceptional 
favor,  that  the  Sir  Michel  Meyendorffmay  be  author 
ized  to  join  his  family  in  America. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  me,  M.  Minister,  to  bring  to  your 
notice  this  gracious  decision  of  His  Majesty  the  Em 
peror,  and  I  profit  by  this  occasion  to  offer  you  the 
assurance  of  my  most  distinguished  consideration. 
(Signed) 

GORTCHACOV. 

Copy: 

St.  Petersburg,  Ra. 

Feb.  24,  1866 
DEAR  SIR  : 

Your  letter  of  the  29th  Jan.  ult.  with  the  other 
documents  in  reference  to  your  half-brother  Michael 


[  '58] 

MeyendorfF,  were  duly  received,  and  I  lost  no  time  in 
bringing  all  my  influence  in  my  humble  way,  to  favor 
your  cause. 

To-day  Prince  Gortachacov  sent  for  me,  and  said 
as  a  special  favour,  and  as  an  "  exceptional  "  case,  His 
Imperial  Majesty  has  granted  my  petition  for  the 
sending  of  your  brother  to  America,  which  will  be  at 
once  done  in  a  quiet  way. 

I  have  advanced  to  the  Russian  Government 
Rs5oo  as  requested,  but  of  my  own  funds,  for  the 
use  of  your  brother  and  drawn  upon  Secretary  Seward, 
in  favour  of  Baring  Brothers  for  the  same.  Please 
pay  over  that  amount  to  the  State  Department. 

Trusting,  my  dear  sir,  that  your  brother  may  soon 
be  restored  in  health  and  safety  to  his  family,  who  have 
in  your  personal  devotion  to  our  noble  cause  in  our 
late  war,  so  many  claims  upon  my  sympathies  and 
gratitude,  I  am,  my  dear  Sir, 

Your  friend, 

(Signed)  C.  M.  CLAY. 
COL.  JULIAN  ALLEN, 

New  York,  U.  S.  A. 

N.  B.  Please  remember  me  to  J.  G.  Whittier,  whom 
with  yourself  it  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  obey  in  this 
matter. 

C. 


From    LUCY   STONE1 

New  Tork  City,  Jan.  15,  '67 
MR.  WHITTIER, 
DEAR  SIR  : 

You  know  Mr.  Phillips  takes  the  ground  that 
this  is  "the  negroes'  hour,"  and  that  the  women,  if 
not  criminal,  are  at  least,  not  wise  to  urge  their  own 
claim. 

Now,  so  sure  am  I  that  he  is  mistaken  and  that 
the  only  name  given,  by  which  this  country  can  be 
saved,  is  that  of  Woman,  that  I  want  to  ask  you  (if 
you  agree  with  me)  to  use  your  influence  to  induce 
him  to  reconsider  the  position  he  has  taken. 

He  is  the  only  man  in  the  nation,  to  whom  has 
been  given  the  charm  which  compels  all  men,  willing 
or  unwilling,  to  listen  when  he  speaks.  That  such  a 
man  at  such  an  hour,  should  consent  to  narrow  the 
application  of  a  universal  principle  to  a  single  class, 
must  be  because  the  Fiend  who  desires  the  ruin  of  the 
country  has  blinded  his  eyes,  until  he  believes,  or 
thinks  he  does,  that  the  nation's  peril  can  be  averted, 
if  it  can  be  induced  to  accept  the  poor  "  half  loaf"  of 

1  '«  One  of  the  early  Anti-Slavery  orators  was  Lucy  Stone.  She  was 
the  editor  of  the  Woman's  Journal.  She  was  an  eloquent  speaker  and 
charmed  her  audiences.  One  evening  in  Western  New  York,  I  took 
a  Democratic  lawyer  to  hear  her.  As  we  were  leaving  the  hall  at  the 
close  of  the  meeting,  my  friend  turned  toward  the  platform,  where 
Miss  Stone  was  still  standing,  and  said  in  a  dazed  sort  of  way  :  '  Little 
lady,  I  do  not  believe  in  your  doctrines,  but  God  made  you  an  orator. '  ' 

Stanton,  Recollections,  6. 


justice  for  the  negro,  which  is  poisoned  by  its  lack 
of  justice  for  every  woman  in  the  land.  Mr.  Phillips 
used  to  say  "  take  your  part  with  the  perfect  and  ab 
stract  right,  and  trust  God  to  [see]  that  it  shall  prove 
the  expedient/'  Now  he  needs  some  one  to  help  him 
to  that  high  point  again.  I  know  that  he  has  great 
personal  love  for  you,  and  respect  for  your  opinions, 
and  because  he  has,  you  may  be  the  "  Good  Fairy," 
who  can  help  him  to  his  proper  self.  Will  you  not 
try  ?  Very  respectfully, 

LUCY  STONE. 


From  CELIA   THAXTER ' 

Appledore,  March  iitb,  [1867]. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND: 

I  wonder  if  you  know  the  aspect  of  Appledore 
at  this  unmitigated  time  of  year!  The  sky  is  like  a 
cover  of  tin,  the  sea  is  leaden,  the  rocks  are  iron,  the 
snow  lies  ghastly  white  in  patches,  and  out  of  the 
bitter  east  there  blows  a  wind  of  despair.  Now  and 
then  a  coaster  creeps  along  the  shore,  with  dark  and 
weather-beaten  sails,  or  a  little  boat  scuds  past  towards 
Portsmouth  with  a  "  fare  of  fish  "  to  dispose  of,  or  a 
lonely  bird  flies  over,  —  nothing  else  living  breaks  the 
monotony.  Indoors,  the  flowers  bloom,  the  birds  sing, 
the  little  golden  fishes  are  graceful  and  bright  in  their 
transparent  globe,  the  fire  burns  clear.  My  Vikings 
come  and  go,  and  I  love  the  sight  of  their  ruddy 
cheeks,  and  yellow  beards  more  than  tongue  can 
tell. 

1  Mrs.  Thaxter  was  an  especially  welcome  correspondent  of  Whit- 
tier's.  He  wrote  her,  8th  mo,  8,  1867  :  "  It  is  to  sheer  kindness  of 
heart,  my  dear  friend,  that  I  owe  thy  pleasant  letters  so  vividly  repre 
senting  life  at  the  Shoals.  They  are  wonderfully  hospitable  letters  — 
they  give  me  the  freedom  of  the  island.  I  sit  by  thy  parlor  fire  in  the 
stormy  nights  ;  I  see  the  tossing  boats  in  the  little  harbor ;  the  islands 
ringed  round  with  foam  ;  I  feel  the  spray  as  it  tosses  up  through  cleft 
and  gorge  ;  and  I  hear  thee  telling  stories  to  the  young  folks,  and  half 
fancy  myself  a  boy  among  them,  nestling  close  to  thee,  with  '  not 
unpleasant  horror*  as  the  tragedy  deepens.  It's  all  very  nice,  but  it 
puzzles  me  to  know  why  I  am  favored  in  this  way.  There  must  be 
some  mistake  ;  I  am  getting  what  don't  really  belong  to  me." 

Pickard,  Wbitticr,  524. 


C  162  ] 

I  sit  by  my  mother's  side  and  run  the  swift  sewing- 
machine,  and  cut  and  fit  and  finish  work  in  piles.  I 
have  been  here  nearly  a  fortnight  and  I  think  the  sun 
has  faintly  smiled  once  during  that  time ;  verily  "  an 
under-roof  of  doleful  gray."  Mr.  Tennyson  was  not 
referring  to  our  spring  when  he  said,  "  When  through 
wild  March  the  throstle  calls."  I  should  like  to  see 
the  throstle  that  would  dare  " — the  winter's  linger 
ing  chill — the  mocking  spring's  perpetual  cross."  I 
think  so  !  "perpetual  ";  but  I  never  used  to  mind,  and 
found  as  much  delight  in  the  leaden  sea  as  I  do  now 
in  the  divinest  summer  blue. 

Oh,  when  the  south-west  winds  begin  to  blow,  how 
all  this  will  change!  What  a  melting  haze  will  steal 
down  from  Cape  Ann  and  softly  girdle  the  whole 
round  horizon  with  a  band  of  tender  color,  and  how 
gracious  and  genial  the  world  will  look!  And  from 
this  scanty  soil  will  spring  such  flowers  as  the  main 
land  never  sees.  "Violets,  dim,  but  sweeter  than  the 
lids  of  Juno's  eyes,"  so  large  and  deeply  colored  and 
nearly  all  the  "darlings  of  the  spring,"  beside,  only 
lovelier  far  than  the  flowers  of  the  mainland.  And  the 
curlews  will  pipe  and  the  sandpipers  call  clear  from 
cove  to  cove  along  the  shore,  the  sea  will  be  alive 
with  water  fowl  and  the  rocks  with  land  birds.  How 
curious  it  is  that  so  many  land  birds  find  their  way 
here  and  rest  here  for  so  long!  That  so  many  butter 
flies  and  caterpillars  and  snakes  do  abide  here  !  Cedric 
has  seen  snakes  floating  on  driftwood  out  on  the  mid- 
sea. 

Did  I  ever  tell  you  about  the  ball  of  fire  that  pur 
sued  a  boat  against  the  wind  from  Portsmouth  ?  I  be 
lieve  I  did.  It  is  a  queer  story  and  the  landsmen  who 


were  being  conveyed  to  Appledore  in  that  boat  were 
reliable  people. 

Yesterday,  several  Star  islanders,  lean,  brown,  dry 
and  wiry  as  their  own  salt  fish,  came  over  and  an 
nounced  that  a  strange  yawl-boat  had  been  tossed 
ashore  among  the  tumbling  breakers  on  their  island, 
and  straightway  the  eastern  "  coast "  of  Appledore  was 
scoured  for  any  trace  of  wreck,  and  anxious  eyes 
sought  afar  off  on  the  dim  and  misty  sea  for  any 
sign  of  dismantled  vessel,  but  there  was  none  to  be 
seen. 

Did  I  ever  tell  you  of  the  musical  accomplishments 
of  the  Star  islanders  ?  Their  singing  is  something  truly 
astonishing,  indeed,  I  might  say,  excruciating.  They 
go  at  it  precisely  as  if  they  were  sawing  wood,  and 
grind  out  the  sounds  with  such  exertion  that  their 
faces  become  crimson  and  the  perspiration  stands  in 
beads  upon  their  foreheads.  Fortunately  there  are  not 
many  gifted  with  this  divine  capacity.  And  they  do 
so  twist  and  turn  the  King's  English  that  an  interpre 
ter  is  absolutely  necessary. 

An  individual,  John  Caswell  by  name,  who  is  at 
present  at  the  head  of  the  "  singers  "  of  Star,  occasion 
ally  comes  over  here,  and  of  course  he  expects  to  be 
asked  to  sing,  and  he  does  sing,  screwing  his  eyelids 
tight  together  and  gesticulating  in  a  way  which  is  un 
canny,  and  perfectly  ridiculous  to  behold.  One  of  his 
favorite  songs  begins  in  this  style,  so  he  renders  it, 

u  Down  by  some  spe-cious  medder-land  abroad  as  I  did  roam, 
I  sat  me  down,  for  pleasure,  upon  a  moss-grown  stone." 

You  would  hardly  recognize  "spacious  meadow-land  " 
—  his  accent  on  the  spe  is  delicious. 


Another  one  begins 

"  In  famous  London  City,  luv,  a  damsel  there  did  dwell, 
With  fairy  form  and  features,  luv,  she  was  called  the  Giniwy 
Quin." 

Why  she  was  called  the  Genoa  Queen  this  deponent 
saith  not,  and  as  she  lived  in  famous  London  City,  I 
don't  see  why  she  should  have  rejoiced  in  that  title. 
If  I  only  could  give  you  the  preposterous  air  of  this 
song !  The  dragging  of  some  words  and  the  clipping 
of  others,  —  it  has  the  most  absurd  effect. 

One  doleful  ballad  tells  the  tale  of  a  broken-hearted 
youth  who  fell  in  love  with  his  mother's  handmaid, 
Betsy,  and  his  mother,  being  angry  thereat,  sent  Betsy 
over  seas,  whereupon 

"  O,  he  fell  sick  and  like  to  have  died, 
His  mother  round  his  sick-bed  cried, 
But  all  her  crying,  it  was  in  vain, 
For  Betsy  was  aploughing  the  raging  main." 

By  the  way,  the  dear  little  song  from  Orr's  island,  I 
set  to  one  of  the  most  melodious  and  melancholy  of 
the  Star  tunes  and  my  brothers  like  it  so  much  they 
keep  me  singing  it  continually,  [and  call,]  "  Now, 
sister,  The  morning  star  was  shining  still,"  —  half  a 
dozen  times  in  a  day.  I  brought  down  your  book  with 
me  and  we  have  all  had  such  a  good  time  together 
over  it !  It  is  funny.  I  left  my  boys  singing  about  the 
house, 

"  Fast  as  she  prayed  and  faster  still 
Hammered  the  Troll  in  Ulshoi  hill," 

and  Oscar  and  Cedy  go  humming  about  the  house  the 
same  lines  —  there  is  a  kind  of  fascination  in  the  grim 
fate,  I  suppose.  .  .  . 


Thursday. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  I  have  written  this  letter  by  fits,  as  I 
got  time.  I  'm  afraid  it  won't  be  easy  to  read,  or  worth 
reading.  The  wind  continues  to  howl,  but  now  it 
comes  from  the  (equally)  bitter  north  and  "gusty 
grows  the  sea  "  with  streaks  of  cold  green  in  the  leade'n 
gray.  If  it  relents  sufficiently,  I  shall  send  across  to 
Portsmouth  next  Monday,  and  betake  myself  to  my 
nest  and  the  birds  that  wait  my  coming  with  longing. 
I  have  got  such  a  houseful  of  boys !  I  wish  I  had  three 
or  four  daughters  or  sisters  or  something  of  the  sort. 
But  then  I  dare  say  they  (the  boys)  would  not  con 
sider  me  so  precious  a  household  commodity  as  now 
they  do,  if  the  feminine  element  were  more  extensive. 

I  think  I  am  half  asleep !  Do  please  pardon  this 
untidy  and  incoherent  epistle.  Good  night,  and  God 
bless  and  keep  you  always,  most  dear  and  precious 
friend.  With  loving  reverence 

Yours  ever, 

C.  T. 


From  JESSIE    BENTON    FREMONT 

DEAR  M'  WHITTIER  : 

Something  pleased  us  all  very  much  yesterday, 
and  I  know  you  will  be  gratified  by  hearing  of  it. 
This  was,  as  you  know  my  home,  for  at  least  every  win 
ter,  all  my  life,  until  I  was  "put  into  Coventry"  after 
'56.  But  old  servants  always  come  about  me  when  I 
return  here,  and  call  me  still  "  Miss  Jessie,"  as  they 
did  when  I  was  a  girl.  My  mother  and  father  not 
only  gave  freedom  to  all  their  own  slaves,  employing 
such  as  wished  to  stay  on  wages,  but  they  employed 
free  people,  giving  them  a  helping  hand  in  their  fam 
ily  cares  and  building  up  good  will  toward  us,  that  I 
feel  [sad]  now,  when  of  all  our  family,  and  of  all  our 
large  circle  of  family  connections  and  friends  I  alone 
am  the  one  remaining  here.  It  is  very  seldom  I  come 
to  Washington  ;  lately  I  *ve  been  with  my  oldest  boy 
who  has  just  passed  his  examination  at  the  Naval 
School,  but  when  I  do  come  it  is  only  from  dusky 
faces  that  I  find  the  old  greeting. 

Yesterday  being  the  Fourth,  our  landlord  (who  is 
colored,  as  are  all  his  employees,  and  it  is  confessedly 
the  best  kept  house  in  Washington)  brought  in  a  little 
orator  who  is  the  pet  of  the  colored  schools.  (In  these 
schools  are  some  eleven  thousand  children).  This 
child  of  twelve  recited  "  Sheridan's  Ride  "  in  so  true 
and  beautiful  a  voice,  and  with  such  natural  power 
and  beauty  of  expression,  that  we  were  charmed,  and 
not  less  so  when  Wormly  told  us  he  might  be  called 


one  of  our  family,  for  he  was  the  child  of  one  of  our 
best  servants  —  one  of  a  family  of  twenty-three.  The 
mother  is  very  alert  and  full  of  work,  and  comes  daily 
to  see  after  my  comfort,  although  it  is  so  many  years 
now  since  any  of  us  lived  here.  This  child  is  named 
for  her  favorite  nursling,  the  Rev?  MT.  Eliot  of  St. 
Louis,  and  is  a  most  promising  child  every  way. 

But  my  long  introduction  leads  to  this,  that  when 
I  told  the  child  to  recite  something  else  that  he  liked 
best,  and  something  he  had  learned  by  himself,  then 
he  smiled  up  at  me  and  began  your  "  Barbara  Friet- 
chie."  He  has  as  strong  natural  dramatic  voice  and 
countenance  as  Dickens.  He  has  seen  troops  march 
past  "all  day  long,"  and  who  of  us  can  tell  what  that 
flag  has  been  to  his  color.  It  made  my  heart  swell  with 
thankfulness  to  feel  we  had  had  a  part  in  this  work.  Was 
it  not  a  truer  keeping  of  the  Fourth  to  hear  this  battle 
hymn  to  our  flag  recited  by  the  little  colored  boy  who 
under  it  had  gained  the  right  to  use  his  talents,  than 
to  keep  it  as  New  York  kept  it  ? 

You  can  never  know  the  aid  you  were  in  this  war. 
I  have  had  to  thank  you  for  strength  given  to  my 
Chief  and  to  me,1  and  now  I  know  it  will  please  you 
to  see  how  you  are  dear  and  familiar  to  those  who, 
until  so  lately,  had  to  stand  dumb  as  sheep  before  the 
shearer,  but  who  now  have  an  equal  right  to  education 
and  all  it  brings.  We  will  be  travelling  near  you  in  a 
few  weeks,  and  if  you  are  at  home,  we  will  come  again 

1  Whittier  by  his  pen  had  actively  supported  Fremont  for  the  pre 
sidency  in  1856,  as  in  "The  Pass  of  the  Sierras,"  Poems,  321,  "A 
Song  inscribed  to  the  Fremont  Clubs,'*  Poems,  323,  and  others. 
The  approval  in  " To  John  C.  Fremont"  was  especially  welcome 
(ante,  p.  148,  note). 


to  see  you,  and  meantime  the  General  and  my  daugh 
ter  join  me  in  affectionate  respects  to  you,  dear  Mf 
Whittier. 

JESSIE  B.  FREMONT. 
Washington  City,  July  5th  [1868] 
(at  Wormly's) 


From   CHARLES   SUMNER 

Coolidge  Housed 

itfb  Novbr  [1868] 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER: 

Last  evening  I  was  told  that  you  were  in  Bos 
ton  and  to  be  found  at  the  Marlboro  House.2  I  hur 
ried  there  at  once,  and  was  pained  to  learn  that  you 
had  left  for  home.  This  was  hard  for  me,  for  I  longed 
to  see  you. 

Why  did  you  not  let  me  know  of  your  visit  ?  It 
would  have  been  pleasant  to  review  our  doings  and 
note  the  great  progression  of  events ;  and  I  wished 
also  to  look  with  you  at  the  future  and  compare  the 
destinies  as  we  each  see  them. 

I  confess  my  anguish  when  I  think  of  the  rebel 
States  and  the  brutalities  to  which  good  people  are 
exposed.  Opportunity  has  been  sacrificed  during  the 
last  four  years.  I  hope  we  can  recover  it.  Can  we  ? 
Under  proper  influences  those  States  could  have  been 

1  In  Bowdoin  Square,  Boston,  nearly  opposite  the  Revere  House, 
where  Sumner  lived  after  his  home  on  Hancock  Street  was  broken  up, 
his  mother  having  died  in  1 866,  and  his  attempt  at  establishing  a  home 
of  his  own  having  been  of  short  duration. 

a  The  Marlboro  House,  Washington  Street,  between  Winter  and 
Bromfield  Streets,  was  a  favorite  place  with  reformers  for  years.  The 
reason  may  be  discerned  in  an  advertisement  of  it  in  the  Libera 
tor ,  July,  1837  :  "  Efforts  will  be  made  to  furnish  the  table  with  the 
products  of  free  labor,  and  provision  will  also  be  made  for  those  who 
prefer  vegetable  diet.  Religious  worship  will  be  regularly  maintained 
every  day,  and  as  far  as  possible  to  prevent,  no  company  will  be  re 
ceived  or  bills  settled  on  the  Sabbath.  No  smoking  allowed.  .  .  ." 


moulded  into  Republican  Commonwealths  where  every 
man  should  enjoy  equal  rights.  But  they  have  been 
hardened  and  bedevilled. 

Hope  you  are  well,  dear  Whittier,  and  happy.  Ex 
cept  in  my  throat  I  am  reasonably  well;  but  there  is 
very  little  happiness  for  me.  This  is  my  lot  and  I  try 
to  bear  it. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  have  missed  you. 
Good  bye. 

Ever  affectionately  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER. 


From  OLIVER   WENDELL   HOLMES 

Boston  Oct.  17 th  1869. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  find  the  poem1  very  musical,  tender,  charm 
ing.  I  do  not  find  anything  forced  or  fantastic  in  the 
parallel  between  the  two  incidents.  I  suppose  by  your 
note  that  was  what  you  feared,  and  I  understand  very 
well  how  you  might  wish  to  know  the  way  in  which 
it  would  strike  another.  I  assure  you,  I  never  should 
have  made  the  criticism  which  you  apprehend,  nor  do 
I  believe  that  others  would  have  made  it.  I  must  find 
something  to  criticise,  of  course,  or  you  will  think  me 
of  no  account  whatever  as  an  Aristarchus.2 

"Flowery  rounds''3  is  not  quite  so  musical  as  some 
of  your  other  endings,  but  it  is  hard  to  find  two  better 
words,  perhaps,  on  the  whole. 

"  Danite  athlete"4  is  open  to  the  same  slight  objec- 

1  "The  Hive  at  Gettysburg,"  Poems ,  348,  was  suggested  by  an 
incident  after  the  battle.    Bees  filled  a  ' « shattered  drum  ' '  with  honey, 
and  a  friend,  finding  it,  sent  a  piece  of  the  comb  to  Whittier. 

2  "Whose  looks  were  as  a  breeching  to  a  boy." 

Lowell,  Poems,  167. 
3   "Bleeding  and  torn  from  Freedom's  mountain  bounds, 

A  stained  and  shattered  drum 
Is  now  the  hive  where,  on  their  flowery  rounds, 

The  wild  bees  go  and  come." 
*  As  now  printed  :  — 

"From  Treason's  death  we  draw  a  purer  life, 

As,  from  the  beast  he  slew, 
A  sweetness  sweeter  for  his  bitter  strife 
The  old-time  athlete  drew  ! " 


C  17*] 

tion  — that  it  repeats  two  very  similar  sounds.  Each 
is  the  right  word,  probably  the  best  word  that  can  be 
found,  yet  the  two  together  stuff  the  mouth  with  con 
sonants —  ds  and  ts — a  little  fuller  than  suits  the  ear. 

These  are  not  my  criticisms,  but  my  hypercriti- 
cisms.  I  have  a  dyspeptic  ear  which  often  insists  on 
liquids,  where  a  better  aural  or  acoustic  digestion  would 
like  more  solid  substance.  So  do  not  mind  the  two 
trivial  comments,  which  are  not  meant  to  detract  any 
thing  from  my  verdict  on  the  poem  as  a  very  beauti 
ful  and  admirable  one. 

I  enclose  you  some  verses  f  of  my  own  which  will 
appear  in  the  next  Atlantic,  —  until  which  time  they 
are  of  course  private — which  you  will  read  I  know, 
and  I  hope  like  well  enough  in  their  way,  but  which 
you  must  not  trouble  yourself  to  acknowledge. 
Always  faithfully  yours, 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 

1  "Bonaparte,  Aug.  15,  1769  —  Humboldt,  Sept.  14,  1769," 
dated  at  Boston,  Sept.  14,  1869  ;  in  Atlantic,  Nov.,  1869. 


To  (a  Quaker) 

Amesbury,  26,  id  Moy  1870. 
DEAR  FRIEND: 

Thy  kind  letter  of  unity  and  sympathy  with  my 
letter  x  to  the  "  Review  "  has  been  received.  I  wrote 
as  I  felt,  and  perhaps  with  some  degree  of  plainness, 
but  with  no  wish  to  censure  or  injure  the  feelings  of 
those  who  differ  from  me.  If  I  know  myself,  I  would 
far  rather  endure  wrong  myself  than  inflict  it  on  others. 
I  do  not  and  dare  not  set  myself  up  as  a  rebuker  of 
my  brethren ;  but  I  did  feel  as  if  it  would  be  right 
to  express  my  deep  conviction  that  the  standard  of 
ancient  Quakerism  is  the  truth,  and  that  nothing  can 
be  gained  by  departing  from  it.  If  our  friends  out  West 
are  doing  good,  I  rejoice  in  it ;  if  men  are  brought  to 
repentance  and  faith  in  our  Divine  Lord  in  Methodist 
or  Calvinistic  meetings,  I  am  glad  and  thankful.  But, 
for  myself,  unworthy  as  I  feel  that  I  am,  I  feel  that 
my  place  is  in  the  old  paths ;  I  cannot  walk  freely  in 
the  new  and  I  only  ask  that  charity  and  forbearance, 
which  I  willingly  accord  to  others  who  do  not  see  as 
I  do,  but  who  are  zealous  and  earnest  in  their  labors. 

1  This,  with  another  to  the  Friends  Review,  Whittier  reprinted  in 
his  Prose  Works,  iii,  305,  with  this  comment  :  — 

"The  following  letters  were  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Friends 
Review  in  Philadelphia,  in  reference  to  certain  changes  of  principle  and 
practice  in  the  Society  then  beginning  to  be  observable,  but  which  have 
since  more  than  justified  the  writer's  fears  and  solicitude. " 

Colonel  Higginson,  Wbittler,  121,  says  the  best  impression  of 
Whittier' s  relation  with  the  Society  of  Friends  is  to  be  found  in  these 
two  letters. 


I  would  not  for  the  world  put  any  stumbling  block 
in  the  way  of  others  who  feel  that  they  are  called  in 
another  direction.  We  must  learn  to  bear  with  one 
another ;  we  have  had  too  many  separations  already, 
and  I  hope  I  may  be  preserved  from  any  act  or  word 
which  can  tend  to  division,  or  strife  and  hard  feeling.  I 
feel  a  strong  assurance  that  our  Society  has  yet  a  great 
work  to  do.  I  may  not  live  to  see  it,  but  I  rejoice  in 
the  hope.  The  present  time  is  one  of  unrest  and  dis 
quiet  —  but  who  knows  but  that  the  waters  are  troubled 
for  our  healing  ? 

Some  of  us  may  have  erred  on  the  right  hand,  and 
some  on  the  left;  and  this  shaking  of  the  balance 
may  adjust  it. 

With  love  to  thyself  and  wife,  I  am  affectionately 
thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER 

I  had  a  sweet  letter  from  dear,  old  Josiah  Foster  the 
other  day.  He  is,  I  believe,  88  years  old. 

W. 


From    PAUL   H.   HAYNE ' 

"  Copse  Hill"  Geo.  R.  Road, 

1 6  miles  from  Augusta, 

March  i$rdy  1870. 
MY  DEAR  M?  WHITTIER: 

I  cannot  resist  the  warm  impulse  which 
prompts  me  to  thank  you  for  your  letter  —  so  quaintly 
kind  —  which  I  have  just  rec? 

I  am  proud  and  glad  to  think  that  the  little  versified 
story  of  "  Dophles  "  seems  to  have  interested  you, 
but  the  genial  words  you  have  written  concerning  my 
friend,  my  more  than  brother,  Henry  Timrod,  have 
impressed  me  yet  more  profoundly. 

Indeed  he  was  a  man  of  exquisite  and  delicate 
genius,  who  after  a  comparatively  short  life  of  constant 
pain,  privation,  and  suffering,  was  inexpressibly  re 
joiced  to  obey  the  call  of  the  Master,  and  to  pass 
where, 

"  Beyond  these  voices  there  is  peace ! " 

All   his  poems  have  been  left  in  my  hands,  and 

1  In  replying  to  the  charge  of  a  Southern  paper  that  he  was  an 
enemy  of  the  South,  Whittier  once  wrote  to  a  friend:  "I  was  never 
an  enemy  to  the  South  or  the  holders  of  slaves.  I  inherited  from  my 
Quaker  ancestry  hatred  of  slavery,  but  not  of  slaveholders.  To  every 
call  of  suffering  or  distress  in  the  South  I  have  promptly  responded  to 
the  extent  of  my  ability.  I  was  one  of  the  very  first  to  recognize  the 
rare  gift  of  the  Carolinian  poet,  Timrod,  and  I  was  the  intimate  friend 
of  the  lamented  Paul  H.  Hayne,  though  both  wrote  fiery  lyrics 
against  the  North.  I  am  sure  no  one  rejoices  more  heartily  than  I  do 
at  the  prosperity  of  the  Southern  States."  Pickard,  Wbittier,  502. 


[  '76] 

already  I  have  his  memoir  (a  very  brief  and  simple 
one),  prepared,  together  with  his  poems,  as  I  am  sure 
he  would  have  liked  them  arranged;  —  but  alas!  for 
two  years  and  upwards,  my  earnest  efforts  to  procure 
a  publisher,  North  and  South,  have  wretchedly  failed. 

I  can  only  wait,  and  hope! l  My  disappointment  is 
the  sorer  on  this  topic,  because  Timrod  left  an  im 
poverished  family  behind  him,  and  I  did  trust  it  might 
be  in  my  power  to  bring  them  something  from  the 
proceeds  of  his  book. 

You  have  characterized  his  later  poems  with  dis 
criminating  taste.  Of  course,  you  will  comprehend  that 
in  his  war  verses  etc.,  there  is  no  real  malignity.  A 
kinder-hearted  being  never  existed. 

Perceiving  the  interest  you  manifest  in  his  works, 
I  venture  to  enclose  some  memorial  rhymes,  which  at 
least  came  spontaneously  from  the  heart.  I  may  have 
enclosed  them  previously,  but  I  think  not.  A  couple 
of  other  trifles  accompany  them. 

From  the  bottom  of  my  soul  I  echo  your  wish  that 
henceforth  all  jealousies,  all  unworthy  prejudices  may 
be  annihilated,  between  North  and  South. 

As  for  Literature,  it  has  no  sections.  Like  God's 
beneficent  sky,  the  fair  world  of  Art  is  broad  enough 
to  comprehend  and  cover  us  all ! 

And  thus,  from  these  barren  pine-woods,  I,  the 
humblest  among  our  singers,  can  stretch  forth  warm 
hands  of  cordiality  and  love  towards  you  —  among 
our  most  illustrious  —  feeling  sure  that  I  shall  meet 
with  the  electric  touch  of  sympathy. 

The  spring  is  just  beginning  to  show  her  archly 

1  The  Poems  of  Henry  Timrod  ;  Edited,  with  a  Sketch  of  the  Poet's 
Life,  by  Paul  H.  Hayne.  New  York,  E.  J.  Hale  &  Son,  1873. 


C  177] 

beautiful  face  in  our  forests  and  gardens.  From  the 
latter  I  pluck  a  few  violets,  which  please  accept  as 
emblems  of  good  will  and  friendship,  from  yours 
faithfully, 

PAUL  H.  HAYNE. 


From   PAUL   H.   HAYNE 

"Copse  Hill"  (near  Augusta,  Geo.) 

April  iind,  1870. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

You  are  very  kind  in  inviting  me  again.  I 
thank  you  for  it.  And  also,  I  must  gratefully  acknow 
ledge  the  reception  of  your  little  volume  "  Among 
the  Hills/'  There  is  a  subdued  beauty  of  thought 
and  fancy  in  this  book,  a  tenderness  of  sentiment, 
wedded  to  imagination  which  time  and  grief  have  evi 
dently  chastened,  the  general  effect  whereof  is  to  the 
last  degree,  soothing  and  sweet.  I  have  found  it  a  con 
soling  work.  The  special  poem  from  which  your  vol 
ume  takes  its  title,  reminded  me,  from  the  metre 
chosen,  of  Wordsworth's  celebrated  lines  on  "  Yarrow 
Revisited."  I  've  compared  the  two  pieces,  and  hon 
estly,  I  prefer,  greatly  prefer,  "Among  the  Hills."  In 
the  first  place,  the  art  of  the  latter  is  more  complete, 
and  it  possesses  a  sounder  body  of  thought.  Regarded 
simply  in  a  picturesque  point  of  view,  it  is  richer  in 
coloring,  and  more  suggestive.  And  running  thro  the 
simple  narrative,  like  tangles  of  gold  thro  a  silver 
woof,  are  such  lines  as, 

"  For  still  in  mutual  sufferance  lies 

The  secret  of  true  living  ; 
Love  scarce  is  love,  that  never  knows 
The  sweetness  of  forgiving  !  "  I 

A  deep  truth,  exquisitely  embodied  ! 

1   "Among  the  Hills,"  Poems,  89. 


Ah,  dear  sir,  when  the  final  shadows  gather  about 
us  all,  you  ought  gratefully  and  gladly  to  reflect  that 
your  poetry  has  been  the  means  of  teaching  thousands 
of  untutored  hearts,  of  consoling  the  sufferer,  and 
bringing  light  to  the  doubter;  of  in  fact,  purifying 
and  elevating  your  fellow-creatures,  as  genuine  poetry 
always  ought  to  purify  and  elevate.  A  commonplace 
verity,  perhaps,  but  are  we  not  disposed  now-a-days 
to  forget  it  ? 

The  Baudelaires,  and  Swinburnes,  chanting  the 
praises  of  Annihilation  and  the  "  Conqueror  Worm," 
may  be  men  of  genius,  and  splendid  imagination,  but 
with  all  my  heart,  and  soul,  and  strength,  do  I  detest 
and  abhor  their  abominable  philosophy,  and  their 
apotheosis  as  it  were,  of  the  principle  of  decay,  rot 
tenness  and  corruption ! ! 

u  Only  the  sleep  eternal 
In  an  eternal  night !  " 

is  the  refrain  which  seems  to  me  to  run  thro  all  of 
Swinburne's  verses,  which  magnificent  as  they  are 
(artistically),  depress  and  weigh  down  my  spirit,  when 
ever  I  am  tempted  to  read  them. 

But  I  Ve  no  intention  of  beguiling  you  into  a  cor 
respondence  that  might  prove  hurtful  to  your  health; 
therefore,  with  repeated  thanks  for  your  kindness  and 
consideration,  I  remain,  dear  sir, 

Always  faithfully 

PAUL  H.  HAYNE 


From   CHARLES   SUJVINER 

Washington,  i6tb  June  '72. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER: 

With  gladness  I  welcome  your  friendly  hand.1 

I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  where  my  speech 2  is 
too  severe.  Mr.  W.  I.  Bowditch  calls  it  "  forbearing." 
I  intended  it  to  be  so. 

The  Presidents  conduct  can  be  adequately  pre 
sented  only  in  severe  language.  Since  the  Crime  against 
Kansas,  we  have  heard  nothing  like  it.  Such  injustice 
to  a  people,  and  to  individuals.  Such  heartlessness, 
such  insensibility  to  the  requirements  of  his  post,  such 
an  evil  example  must  be  exposed.  I  should  have  been 
faithless,  had  I  failed  to  do  it. 

That  people  can  hesitate  to  condemn  such  conduct 
attests  the  general  demoralization,  and  the  insensi 
bility  to  virtue.  But  it  is  Party  which  does  the  mischief. 
As  head  of  the  Party  he  dictates  and  the  multitude 
crouch.  So  it  looks. 

Amidst  these  heats  I  long  for  the  salt  air  which  you 
breathe.  Good  bye ! 

Ever  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER 

1  Whittier's  letter  to  Sumner,  Appendix  K,  p.  282. 

2  The  full  title  of  the  speech  in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  May  31,  1872, 
'as  given  in  Sumner' s   Works,  xv,  83-171,  is:  Republicanism  vs. 

Grantism  ;  the  Presidency  a  Trust,  not  a  Plaything  ;  Personal  Govern 
ment  and  Presidential  Pretensions  ;  Reform  and  Purity  in  Government. 


From   CHARLES   SUMNER 

Washington,  nth,  Aug.  '72. 

MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  have  not  read  Mr.  Garrison's  letter.1  Some 
one  said  it  was  unkind,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  at 
once  not  to  read  it,  and  of  course  never  to  answer  it. 
I  never  allowed  myself  to  have  controversy  with  him 
in  other  days,  when  we  differed  on  methods,  because 
I  knew  he  was  earnest  against  slavery.  I  shall  join  in 
no  controversy  now. 

Never  have  I  acted  more  absolutely  under  the  man 
date  of  duty,  not  to  be  disobeyed,  than  in  my  present 
course.  Profoundly  convinced  of  Grant's  unfitness, 
and  feeling  that  a  man  like  Greeley  President,  would 
make  an  epoch  for  humanity,  I  could  not  resist  the 
opportunity,  especially  when  Democrats  took  him  as 
their  candidate,  and  pledged  themselves  to  all  that  is 
contained  in  the  Cincinnati  Platform.  From  the  begin 
ning,  while  insisting  upon  all  possible  securities  and 
safeguards,  I  have  pleaded  for  "  reconciliat"  This  is 

1  Sumner  had  written  a  long  letter  urging  the  colored  voters  to  sup 
port  Greeley  as  against  Grant.  This  brought  from  Garrison  a  strong 
rejoinder  on  Grant's  behalf.  Whittier  was  then  appealed  to  by  a  com 
mittee  of  colored  voters,  who  were  perplexed  by  such  contradictory 
advice  from  those  whom  they  trusted.  His  reply,  dated  9th  mo.  3, 
1872  (Prose  Works  y  iii,  161),  was  not  conclusive.  He  discussed  the 
public  services  and  the  political  affiliations  of  each  candidate,  but  as  j 
to  the  choice  between  Grant  and  Greeley  he  said,  «« I  am  willing,  for 
one,  to  leave  my  colored  fellow  citizens  to  the  unbiased  exercise  of 
their  own  judgment  and  interests  in  deciding  between  them." 


the  word  which  recurs  constantly  in  my  speeches.  The 
South  insisted  that  I  was  revengeful.  Never.  And  now 
the  time  has  come  for  her  to  show  the  mood  in  which  I 
acted.  This  is  a  painful  experience.  But  we  are  not 
choosers  in  this  world.  Certainly  I  did  not  choose 
this. 

I  wish  we  could  meet  all  this  hot  summer  I  have 
passed  here,  but  expect  to  be  in  Boston  Wednesday. 
God  bless  you  ! 

Ever  sincerely  yours, 

CHARLES  SUMNER 


From   CELIA   THAXTER 

Pepperell  House,  Kittery. 
Thursday  morning  before  breakfast  [1873]. 

DEAR  FRIEND  : 

We  had  a  glorious  day  yesterday,  and  wished 
you  had  been  with  us  all  the  time,  and  yet  we  thought 
it  might  have  been  too  much  for  your  strength,  and 
that  after  all,  you  were  wisest,  but  you  would  so  have 
enjoyed  it ! 

In  the  first  place,  the  Lord  provided  such  a  day  ! 
perfectly  regardless  of  expense,  with  mountains  of  deli 
cate  cloud  piled  in  the  blue  of  the  north,  and  soft  shift 
ing  films  to  draw  delicious  shadow,  now  and  then, 
across  the  turquoise  color  of  the  quiet  sea.  And  toward 
sunset  all  things  grew  golden  in  stillness,  all  the 
green  of  fields  and  woods  so  mellow,  the  glassy  water 
took  on  tender  rose,  and  presently  out  of  the  grey- 
purple  of  the  east  rolled  up  the  full  moon,  like  a  great 
copper  shield.  And  then  the  northern  lights  began, 
in  banks  of  emerald  light,  that  sent  up  changing 
streamers  and  hung  out  weird  banners.  Our  cups  were 
filled  as  full  as  they  could  hold ;  we  were  glad  at  last 
to  close  our  eyes  on  beauty  and  lose  the  power  of 
receiving  another  impression. 

We  started  about  ten  o'clock,  while  yet  the  dew 
sparkled,  and  drove  though  such  woods  and  fields  and 
flowers  !  Annie  [Fields]  and  I  grew  quite  beside 
ourselves  at  last,  and  made  Mr.  SafFord  get  out  and 
gather  for  us  the  exquisite  sun-dew  along  the  road- 


side,  and  the  pink  fragrant  arethusa  that  flushed  the 
meadows  and  filled  the  air  with  its  sweet  breath. 

I  can't  begin  to  tell  you  all  we  did,  but  about  the 
middle  of  the  day  we  found  ourselves  at  a  wonderful 
ancient  house,  almost  at  the  edge  of  the  sea  ;  such  an 
exquisite  place  !  just  opposite  the  Shoals.  The  house 
was  two  hundred  and  eighteen  years  old ;  the  old 
people  were  nice,  charming  and  kind.  We  took  our 
lunch  there;  we  examined  the  cabinet  of  antique 
papers  and  the  famous  signatures.  The  old  lady  gave 
James  T.  [Fields]  Sir  W?  Pepperell's  signature,  with 
which  he  was  delighted.  I  could  n't  tell  you  half  the 
things  we  saw ! 

In  the  afternoon,  we  drove  on  to  "  Brave  Boat 
Harbor."  We  stopped  at  the  little  grave  yard  close 
to  the  sea,  where  Sir  Francis  Champernoon  sleeps 
under  his  pile  of  stones,  with  the  roses  breathing  over 
him.  Then  I  lay  down  in  the  sweet  grass,  the  better 
to  decipher  this  epitaph,  wrung  out  of  a  suffering 
heart. 

In  this  dark  silent  mansion  of  the  dead 

A  lovely  mother  and  sweet  babe  are  laid. 

Of  every  virtue  of  her  sex  possest, 

She  charmed  the  world  and  made  her  husband  blest. 

Of  such  a  wife,  O  righteous  heaven  I  bereft, 

What  joy  for  me,  what  joy  on  earth  is  left  ? 

Still  from  my  inmost  soul  the  groans  arise, 

Still  flow  the  sorrows  ceaseless  from  mine  eyes. 

But  why  these  sorrows  so  profusely  shed  ? 

They  may  add  to,  but  cannot  raise  the  dead. 

I  soon  shall  follow  that  same  dreary  way 

That  leads  and  opens  to  the  coasts  of  day, 

Then  clasp  them  both  upon  the  happy  shore, 

And  bliss  shall  join,  nor  death  shall  part  us  more. 


[  '85] 

"  Mary  Chauncy  wife  of  Chas.  Chauncy  and  daughter 
to  the  Hon.  Richard  Cutt,  died  April  23d  1758  in  the 
24th  year  of  her  age  (how  young,  poor  thing !)  with 
her  infant  son  Charles  Chauncy." 

Well,  there  was  a  deal  of  sorrow  in  that  little  grave 
yard  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago,  or  thereabouts. 
I  suppose  good  Mr.  Charles  Chauncy  got  him  an 
other  wife  in  the  course  of  another  year,1  but  his  grief 
was  none  the  less  real  then,  and  touches  us  now  pro 
foundly,  speaking  through  a  century's  dust. 

Driving  back,  we  went  to  see  the  Lady  Pepperell's 
house,  where  Aunt  Sally  Cutts  lives  all  alone,  "a  bent 
and  blear-eyed  poor  old  soul"  indeed.  The  faded 
grandeur  of  the  place  was  very  impressive.  I  believe 
if  Aunt  Sally  had  been  away,  James  T.  [Fields] 
would  have  bought  the  place  on  the  spot,  and  still 
think  he  may  do  so.  We  strayed  into  another  grave 
yard  close  by,  such  a  fascinating  place !  The  river 
running  softly  just  below  and  a  tangle  of  wild  greenery 
above  and  all  about.  I  took  the  epitaph  from  the 
grave  of  a  woman  whose  body  was  picked  up  on  the 
shore  after  ship-wreck:  — 

I  lost  my  life  on  the  raging  seas, 
A  Sovreign  God  does  as  he  please ! 
The  Kittery  friends  they  did  appear, 
And  my  remains  they  buried  here. 

Newc  as  fie,  Friday  morning.  We  came  here  yesterday, 
and  I  parted  from  the  Fields  in  the  afternoon.  What 

1  Charles  Chauncy  (1728-1809)  married,  second,  Joanna  Ger- 
rish,  JuJy  I,  1760.  They  had  twelve  children  and  both  died  in  the 
same  year  1809,  after  a  married  life  of  forty-nine  years. 

Fowler,  Memorials  of  the  Cbaunceys  (1858),  71. 


a  good  time  we  have  had  together !  And  now  I  cannot 
get  away  from  these  blessed  people  here,  as  I  pro 
posed,  to-day,  back  to  the  Shoals,  but  must  wait  till 
to-morrow,  lucky  to  get  off  then !  I  long  to  be  back 
again,  though  it  is  enchanting  here,1  more  delicious 
than  I  can  tell  you,  and  these  two  united  families 
with  the  little  children  are  so  happy  here.  Always,  of 
course,  they  miss  that  beautiful  creature  who  died 
this  spring,  Mr.  Albee's  wife  ;  it  gives  a  tender  touch 
of  pathos  to  all  the  beauty  of  every  day.  Last  night 
my  host  drew  me  out  of  the  vine-hung  doorway  to 
see  the  slow  moonrise,  directly  in  front  of  the  house 
behind  the  Shoals.  The  glory  grew  and  across  the  still 
water  lay  a  golden  path  nearly  to  our  feet.  We  talked 
softly  of  that  dear  vanished  spirit.  It  does  the  poor 
lonely  fellow  so  much  good  to  speak  a  little. 

Will  you  not  tell  me  how  you  got  home  ?  I  hope 
my  letter  won't  be  tedious.  Will  you  give  it  a  wel 
come,  I  wonder?  Good  bye.  Much  love  to  the  girls. 

Ever  truly, 

C.  T. 

1  Jaffrey  Cottage,  Newcastle,  N.  H.,  the  home  of  John  Albee, 
author  of  History  of  Newcastle,  Reminiscences  of  Emerson,  and  others, 
where  at  this  time  was  also  the  family  of  Rev.  James  De  Normandie, 
then  of  Portsmouth,  now  of  Roxbury. 


From    PAUL   H.   HAYNE 

Augusta,  March  igtb,  1874. 
MY  DEAR  Mr  WHITTIER: 

And  so,  your  friend1  is  dead  ;  gone  —  who  can 
doubt  it?  —  to '"the  land  o'  the  leal !  "  Some  of  Mr 
Sumner's  political  acts  have  borne,  we  can't  disguise 
this  truth,  terrible  fruits  of  anarchy,  disorganization, 
woe,  and  even  bloodshed,  here  at  the  South ;  but  I 
am  not  so  narrow  minded  as  to  fail  in  due  respect  for 
one,  who  whatever,  in  my  humble  view,  might  be  his 
errors  as  a  statesman,  must,  from  all  accounts,  have 
been  a  sincere,  generous-hearted,  upright  gentleman. 
One  act  even  of  his  political  life,  is  regarded  by  every 
impartial  mind  in  this  section  as  specially  noble  and 
magnanimous ;  I  refer  to  his  effort  to  have  erased  from 
the  regimental  battle  flags  of  the  Northern  soldiery, 
all  inscriptions  alluding  to  the  fratricidal  strifes  of  the 
past.3  Yes  !  that  was  a  grand  deed ;  an  action  of  Ro 
man-like  dignity  and  virtue ;  and  perhaps,  it  will  stand 
clearly  and  brightly  forth  upon  the  records  of  the  fu- 

1  Sunnier  died  March  n,  1874. 

2  The  resolution,  introduced  by  Sumner  in  the  U.  S.  Senate,  Dec. 
1 8,  1872,  declared  that  "  the  names  of  battles  with  our  fellow  citi 
zens  shall  not  be  continued  in  the  army  register,  or  placed  upon  the 
regimental  colors  of  the  United  States."   The  General  Court  of  Mas 
sachusetts  on  the  last  day  of  a  special  session,  called  in  consequence 
of  the  Boston  Fire,  passed  a  resolve  declaring  that   "  such  legislation 
meets  the  unqualified  condemnation  of  the  people  of  this  Common 
wealth."  Whittier  undertook,  the  records  show,  to  have  this  action 
reversed,  and  though  he  failed  in  1873,  he  was  successful  in  1874. 


ture,  when  his  speeches  are  but  matter  of  tradition,  and 
the  very  place  of  his  sepulture  may  furnish  a  theme 
for  antiquarian  speculation. 

Meanwhile,  if  the  news  of  his  decease  has  provoked 
some  bitter,  and  most  unseemly  comments  in  South 
ern  journals,  there  can  be  no  question  that  upon  the 
whole,  they  have  endeavored  to  be,  at  least,  moderate, 
and  to  respect  the  wise  antique  proverb,  "  de  mortuis 
nil  nisi  bonum"  For  the  bitterness  of  a  few,  endeavor 
to  find  some  excuse. 

Call  upon  the  resources  of  your  vivid  imagination 
and  "put  yourself  in  these  men's  places."  The  point 
of  view  in  such  matters  is  everything. 

How  lonely,  after  all,  does  Sumner's  death  appear. 
No  loving  wife  near  to  wipe  his  clammy  brow,  and  to 
receive  his  latest  glances  of  trust  and  affection ;  no 
children  to  reverently  close  his  eyes  !  Ah  !  my  friend  ! 
what  is  mortal  fame,  compared  with  the  unforced  as 
siduities  of  domestic  attachment!  We  come  into  this 
world  out  of  mystery  and  darkness;  we  succeed  in  cre 
ating  a  name,  which  oblivion  (after  a  few  years,  more 
or  less),  effectually  wipes  out,  or,  at  best,  reduces  to 
the  echo  of  an  echo ;  "  vox  et  preterea  nibil"!  And 
in  making  that  name,  perchance,  the  flowers  of  house 
hold  love  refuse  to  bloom  about  our  pathway,  —  and 
instead  we  gain  what?  —  the  "most  sweet  voices"  of 
the  "great  unwashed" — the  applause  of  creatures, 
who  misunderstand  our  motives,  and  commend  us 
where  we  hardly  deserve  commendation,  abusing  and 
reviling  us,  when  we  are  purest,  noblest,  most  self- 
sacrificing  !  "  A  sorry  world,  my  Masters  !  " 

Among  Mr.  Sumner's  pall  bearers,  I  observe  your 
name,  and  that  of  Emerson.  By  the  way,  in  regard 


[  189] 

to  the  latter,  did  you  read  the  foul  abuse  of  him,  pub 
lished  in  the  "N  Y.  World,"  or  "Tribune,"  this 
abuse  being  the  substance  of  a  communication  from 
Swinburne  ? 

Please  tell  Mr.  Emerson,  that  but  one  feeling  of 
intense  disgust,  has  greeted  the  appearance  of  that  in 
famous  letter,  South,  no  less  than  North. 

Was  ever  such  mean  arrogance,  such  maudlin  im 
pudence,  such  colossal  conceit  obtruded  before,  upon 
the  public  view  ?  The  miserable  scamp !  Why  his 
name  ought  to  be  spelt  Swine-burn  ! 

Were  I  a  young  man,  a  relative  of  Emerson's  and 
near  to  this  dog  —  I'm  afraid  I  should  be  tempted 
to  thrash  him  within  an  inch  of  his  filthy  life.  But,  of 
course,  the  old  philosopher  will  take  no  notice  of  such 
an  assault ! 

I  Vejust  sent  to  "Old  and  New  "  a  little  poem  de 
dicated  to  yourself.  I  trust  Hale  may  accept  it.  In 
that  case,  it  will  follow  a  similar  poem  to  Longfellow.1 
Believe  me  always  most 

Faithfully  y'r  friend 

PAUL  H.  HAYNE. 

1  "H.  W.  Longfellow,"  by  Paul  H.  Hayne,  is  in  The  Old  and 
New,  April,  1874;  Edward  Everett  Hale  was  the  editor. 


From  HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW1 

Nabanty  Aug.  7,  1874. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER: 

Will  your  love  for  Sumner  and  your  regard  for 
his  memory,  and  the  desire  that  nothing  unworthy 
may  be  said  of  him,  induce  you  to  undertake  his 
biography  ? 

This  is  an  abrupt  question  :  but  nothing  of  ur 
gency  can  be  added  to  it,  except  perhaps  the  sincere 
wishes  of  Mf  Balch,  Mf  Pierce  and  myself  that  you 
would  consent. 

Please  take  the  matter  into  consideration,  and  see 
whether  your  health  and  other  things  permit. 
Always  yours  sincerely 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

1  Sumner  bequeathed  to  H.  W.  Longfellow,  F.  V.  Balch,  and 
E.  L.  Pierce,  as  trustees,  "  all  his  papers,  manuscripts  and  letter 
books,  to  do  with  them  what  they  think  best ;  with  power  to  destroy 
them,  to  deposit  them  in  some  public  library,  or  to  make  extracts  for 
publication." 

Longfellow  appreciated  Sumner' s  purpose,  for  in  April,  directly  after 
the  probate  of  the  will,  he  wrote,  '«  Who  shall  write  the  life  of  Sum 
ner?"  (Samuel  Longfellow,  Longfellow,  211.)  The  life  in  four 
volumes  was  written  by  Edward  L.  Pierce,  and  the  mass  of  letters, 
170  volumes,  was  deposited  by  Mr.  Pierce' s  family  in  the  Library 
of  Harvard  College. 


From  FELLOW  TOWNSMEN  OF 
AMESBURY' 

FRIEND  WHITTIER: 

In  deference  to  your  well-known  aversion  to 
all  public  display,  the  annoyance  of  a  reception  at 
home  in  honor  of  your  seventieth  birth-day,  is  spared 
you.  Yet  we  trust  it  will  not  be  unpleasant  for  you  to 
receive  from  your  personal  friends  and  fellow  towns 
men  in  this  more  quiet  way  an  expression  of  our  high 
appreciation  and  warm  affection. 

Whilethe  sons  and  daughters  of  song  bringing  their 
tribute  of  admiration  to  Genius,  delight  to  lay  their 
crown  upon  the  head  of  the  Poet ;  we,  who  believe  that 
none  could  wear  it  more  royally,  knowing  your  heart, 
rejoice  to  pay  our  tribute  to  Goodness,  to  greet  the 
man  we  love,  our  Brother,  whose  lustrous  character  has 
made  you  our  first  and  most  honored  citizen.  The 
warm  interest  you  have  taken  in  every  good  work,  the 
wise  counsel  you  have  given,  and  kindly  affection  for 
all,  have  made  you  dear  to  us ;  and  the  genial  humor 
of  your  conversation  has  been  to  our  hearts  the  oil  of 
gladness.  The  beauty  of  a  life  pure  and  true,  a  life 

1  Whittier's  reply  was  printed  in  the  Salisbury  and  Amesbury  Mills 
yjtfager,Dec.  27,  1877.  "•  •  •  Circumstances  may  make  our  inter 
course  somewhat  less  constant  and  familiar  than  in  former  years,  but  your 
interests  and  welfare  are  mine;  there  is  not  a  face  among  you  that  I  shall 
not  always  be  glad  to  see;  not  a  rod  of  soil  on  the  Merrimac  or  the 
Powow  that  I  shall  not  be  happy  to  retrace;  and  about  my  hearth-fire 
in  the  old  house  on  Friend  Street  I  shall  still  hope  often  to  meet  you, 
as  long  as  Providence,  which  has  spared  me  hitherto,  shall  prolong  my 
days.  .  .  ." 


C  19*  ] 

consecrated  to  high  and  holy  aims,  has  been  to  us  a 
continual  inspiration  to  better  things,  and  we  believe 
its  sweet  influence  will  continue  to  be  a  benediction  to 
the  race. 

The  example  you  have  given  us,  of  a  courage  not 
less  fiery  than  that  of  the  ancient  prophets,  of  a  fidel 
ity  to  principle  not  less  conspicuous  than  that  of  the 
martyrs,  of  a  loyalty  to  conscience  unexcelled  in  any 
generation,  and  withal  of  a  sweetness  of  soul  whose 
overflow  has  been  a  continuous  blessing,  —  the  ex 
ample  which  you  have  given  us,  be  assured  we  shall 
account  an  inheritance  to  be  treasured  as  precious 
above  estimation,  and  to  be  transmitted  to  our  chil 
dren's  children.  For  this  we  love  and  honor  you. 

It  is  a  joy  for  us  to  think  that  of  late  your  face  and 
form  have  been  growing  younger;  that  your  troops 
of  friends  may  greet  you  as  one  whose  undaunted 
spirit  is  more  than  a  match  for  time.  Accept  our  warm 
assurance  that  our  homes  will  be  the  happier  the 
oftener  you  may  find  it  possible  to  gladden  them  by 
your  presence.  May  the  day  be  far  in  the  future  when 
you  shall  wish  to  change  your  home  among  us  for  the 
house  not  made  with  hands  !  And  may  the  Muses 
that  have  so  long  attended  upon  your  bidding,  and 
sung  so  cheerily  by  your  fireside,  continue  to  beguile 
your  lengthening  days  until  your  ear  grows  aweary  and 
hungers  for  diviner  songs  !  Believe  us,  truly  and  sin 
cerely  yours, 

George  W.  Merrill  George  Turner 

J.  R.  Huntington  John  Hume 

Horace  H.  Currier  J.  H.  Osborne 

James  W.  Briggs  Aaron  Sawyer 

M.  D.  F.  Steere  O.  S.  Baley 


[  193  ] 


W.  H.  B.  Currier 
Isaac  Barnard 
J.  A.  Perkins 
Pliny  S.  Boyd 
Geo.  W.  Gate 
Geo.  F.  Bagley 


Jos.  T.  Clarkson 
D.  L.  Bartlett 
G.  Cammett 
C.  Cammett 
Samuel  Hoyt,  prC. 


Ames  bury,  Dec.  17,  1877. 

To  JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER. 


From   CHARLES   C.   BURLEIGH' 

Florence,  12,  16/77. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND: 

I  feel  quite  unwilling  to  let  the  accompanying 
missive  from  our  Sunday  School  go  on  its  way  to  you, 

1  Charles  C.  Burleigh  (1810-1878)  entered  the  anti-slavery  work 
at  the  request  of  Samuel  J.  May,  abandoning  the  practice  of  the  law 
for  which  he  had  studied  and  passed  a  brilliant  examination.  After 
a  varied  career  he  settled  in  Florence,  Mass.,  where  for  the  last  ten 
years  of  his  life  he  was  "the  resident  speaker  of  the  Free  Congrega 
tional  Society  of  Florence." 

"  As  a  logical  thinker  and  an  eloquent  public  speaker  Charles  C. 
Burleigh  probably  surpassed  any  one  that  ever  lived  in  Northampton. 
Few  men  anywhere  could  so  readily  and  ably  extemporize  in  a  pub 
lic  speech  as  that  brave  champion  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Some 
of  his  most  brilliant  and  effective  speeches  were  made  on  the  spur  of 
the  moment.  In  discussing  any  question  he  was  noted  for  stating  the 
strongest  points  of  his  opponents,  and  effectually  answering  them,  so 
that  nothing  more  could  be  said.  The  arguments  on  both  sides  would 
be  exhausted.  His  diction  was  clear  and  finished.  .  .  . 

' '  Once  while  speaking  in  an  anti-slavery  meeting,  a  bad  egg,  hurled 
by  an  enemy,  struck  Burleigh  on  the  forehead.  Coolly  wiping  his  brow, 
he  said,  '  I  always  thought  that  pro-slavery  arguments  were  un 
sound.'  .  .  . 

"  He  was  tall  and  his  frame  bore  the  impress  of  great  physical  strength 
and  endurance.  Of  no  one  could  it  be  more  truthfully  said  that  he  had 
the  courage  of  his  convictions.  What  he  deemed  proper  to  do,  whether 
in  matters  of  dress,  of  personal  appearance  and  habits,  or  in  regard  to 
political,  social,  or  religious  concerns,  he  unhesitatingly  carried  out, 
however  strange  his  course  might  appear  to  those  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact.  I  remember  his  wearing  a  full  beard,  long  before  such  a 
practice  was  considered  becoming  or  proper." 

Charles  C.  Burleigh,  by  Seth  Hunt,  in  Sheffield,  History  of  Flor 
ence,  211. 


[  '95] 

without  a  word  from  myself  individually,  on  this  oc 
casion  which  has  called  out  expressions  from  so  many 
of  your  literary  and  other  acquaintances  and  friends. 
The  address  of  our  school,  unanimously  adopted  this 
morning,  speaks,  of  course,  the  thoughts  and  feelings 
which  I  share  with  my  fellow-members  of  the  school, 
but  many  thoughts  and  memories  are  called  up  in  my 
mind  by  the  occasion,  which  they  cannot  share  with 
me.  On  reading  the  address  you  will  perhaps  suspect, 
what  is  the  fact,  that  the  duty  of  preparing  it  was  as 
signed  by  my  associates  to  me.  I  tried  to  make  it  speak 
what  I  believed  to  be  their  thoughts  and  feelings,  so 
far  as  their  knowledge  of  you,  through  your  writings 
or  otherwise  supplied  them  ;  and  the  evidently  hearty 
acceptance  of  my  work,  when  submitted  to  them,  con 
firms  my  belief.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  heartily  I 
share  in  the  rejoicing  of  your  friends,  both  those  who 
have  publicly  voiced  it,  and  I  doubt  not  many  more 
than  these,  who  have  not  done  so,  that  you  have  been 
permitted  to  reach  the  end  of  your  seventieth  year, 
retaining  still  the  intellectual  vigor  and  vivacity  of  ear 
lier  manhood,  and,  I  hope,  at  least  as  good  a  condi 
tion  of  bodily  health  as  when  I  saw  you  last,  though 
that,  indeed,  to  my  regret,  is  not  altogether  what  we 
could  wish,  who  love  you  and  desire  your  long  con 
tinuance  with  us. 

Called  now  as  I  am  to  think  of  you  as  what  in  our 
early  days  we  should  have  regarded  as  "  an  old  man  " 
—  though  our  estimate  of  age  may  have  become  some 
what  modified  by  the  passing  years  — -  my  mind  runs 
back  to  the  days  of  our  first  acquaintance,  and  to  our 
labors  together  in  the  good  old  "  cause  ";  and  thence 
it  ranges  over  the  intermediate  years,  and  gathers 


[  i96] 

thronging  reminiscences  in  its  course.  Philadelphia, 
especially,  and  the  old  Anti-Slavery  Office  there,  and 
Joseph  Healy's  boarding-house  rise  vividly  before 
me,  and  with  them  come  our  fellowboarders  there, 
every  one  of  whom  has  already  gone  before  us  to  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  leaving  many  precious  memo 
ries  behind  them.  Then  too  come,  crowding  in,  the 
wonderful  changes  we  have  witnessed,  so  other  than 
anything  we  had  expected  within  our  earthly  life-time  ; 
till  it  almost  seems  as  if  I  were  living  another  life,  the 
occupant  of  another  world.  But  still  that  former  life 
and  world  are  very  well-defined  objects  of  present  con 
templation  ;  and  your  place  in  relation  to  them  is  very 
distinctly  imaged  to  my  mind.  The  afternoon  which, 
at  a  later  period,  I  passed  with  you  in  Amesbury,  hav 
ing  walked  down  from  Haverhill  for  the  purpose,  is 
also  a  bright  page  of  my  reminiscences. 

I  have  the  satisfaction,  too,  not  only  of  keeping  you 
in  fresh  remembrance  for  myself,  but  of  helping  a  good 
many  to  know  or  remember  something  about  you. 
For,  as  in  the  early  days  of  the  Anti-Slavery  struggle, 
before  your  pieces,  or  any  considerable  number  of 
them,  were  gathered  into  volumes,  I  used  to  make  a 
sort  of  claim  to  be  your  publisher,  because,  as  your 
pieces  came  out  in  the  papers,  I  was  wont  to  commit 
them  to  memory  and  recite  them  in  my  lectures,  and 
in  social  gatherings  at  which  I  was  present,  so  now  I 
have  in  a  measure  gone  back  to  the  old  custom,  and 
introduced  you,  by  public  recitation,  to  a  circle  of 
younger  hearers,  who  seem  to  listen  with  lively  pleas 
ure;  sometimes  an  old  veteran  calls  for  some  poem 
which  had  delighted  him  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  or 
more. 


[  J97] 

It  is  true  that  the  occupations  of  the  passing  days 
do  not  allow  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  time  for 
this  delightful  living  in  the  past,  but  I  do  think  so 
much  of  it  as  can  be  spent  thus,  is  by  no  means  lost 
time,  even  if  mere  delight  did  not  redeem  it  from  loss. 
It  seems  to  me  highly  desirable,  as  a  part  of  the  train 
ing  of  the  younger  generation,  that 

"  Here  should  the  child  of  after  years  be  taught," 
(and  these  are  the  "  after  years  "  referred  to,  you  know,) 

"  The  works  of  Freedom  which  his  fathers  wrought ; 
Told  of  the  trials  of  the  present  hour,  (now  past,) 
Our  weary  strife  with  prejudice  and  power ; 
How  the  high  errand  quickened  woman's  soul, 
And  touched  her  lips,  as  with  a  living  coal ; 
How  Freedom's  martyrs  kept  their  lofty  faith 
True  and  unwavering,  unto  bonds  and  death."  l 

By  the  way,  how  freshly  rises  to  my  view,  today,  the 
time  when  I  first  read  those  lines  in  public,  to  the  gath 
ered  multitude  in  the  Pennsylvania  Hall ;  so  soon 
thereafter  a  heap  of  ashes  and  blackened  brands.  Nor 
do  I  forget  our  gathering  at  the  ruins,  to  make  a  reg 
ular  adjournment  to  another  place,  that  the  continuity 
of  our  meeting  might  not  be  broken ;  nor  yet  the  task 

1  From  the  close  of  "  Pennsylvania  Hall,"  Poems,  279.  Whit- 
tier's  prefatory  note  says  the  poem  was  "  read  at  the  dedication  of 
Pennsylvania  Hall,  Philadelphia,  May  15,  1838.  The  building  was 
erected  by  an  association  of  gentlemen,  irrespective  of  sect  or  party, 
'  that  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  should  possess  a  room  wherein  the 
principles  of  Liberty,  and  Equality  of  Civil  Rights,  could  be  freely 
discussed,  and  the  evils  of  slavery  fearlessly  portrayed.'  On  the  even 
ing  of  the  1 7th  it  was  burned  by  a  mob,  destroying  the  office  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Freeman,  of  which  I  was  editor,  and  with  it  my  books 
and  papers." 


[  i98] 

assigned  to  you,  brother  William  and  myself,  to  pre 
pare  an  address  to  the  people  of  the  State,  in  relation 
to  the  burning  of  the  Hall.  But  my  pen  will  run  away 
with  me,  if  I  suffer  it  follow  the  track  of  these  memo 
ries,  in  which  you  hold  so  large  a  place ;  and  I  will 
constrain  myself  to  stop. 

I  have  yet  room  on  the  page1  to  say,  at  this  close 
of  your  seventy  years,  so  rich  in  noble  and  beneficent 
work,  and,  I  cannot  doubt,  in  high  enjoyment  also, 
spite  of  sorrows  deeper  than  stranger's  eye  can  fathom, 
not  as  is  often  said,  and  as  it  is  the  heart's  first  prompt 
ing  to  say,  "  God  bless  you  ";  but  as  our  old  friend, 
N.  P.  Rogers,  correcting  his  own  first  utterance,  once 
said  to  me,  as  we  were  parting,  "  God  blesses  you." 
For  truly  He  blesses  you,  with  these  ripe  years,  with 
this  continued  ability  to  work,  with  the  just  apprecia 
tion  your  work  has  won,  with  the  child's  faith  in  his 
love  and  care,  which  grasps  his  hand  in  every  dark 
passage  you  must  traverse,  and  catches  the  fatherly 
radiance  of  his  face  whenever  you  emerge  into  the 
light.  So  let  my  vale  be,  God  blesses  you.  Very  truly, 
your  friend  and  comrade, 

C.  C.  BURLEIGH. 

1  This  entire  letter  was  written  on  but  a  half  sheet  of  note  paper, 
and  yet  in  a  legible  hand. 


From   PAUL   H.   HAYNE 

January  loth,  1878. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND: 

I  received  your  letter  of  the  29th  ult.  in  due 
season,  and  I  need  not  say  how  truly  your  kind  words 
gratified  me. 

It  is  indeed  pleasant  to  learn  that  so  very  humble 
a  tribute  as  mine  in  the  "Literary  World"1  should 
have  so  deeply  touched  you.  I  am  more  than  rewarded. 

Apropos  of  the"  World/'  I  have  just  read  your  own 
poem 2  in  answer  to  your  friends,  and  honestly,  it  seems 

1  The  December,  1877,  number  of  the  Boston  Literary  Worldvt?& 
dedicated  to  Whittier  and  contained  many  tributes,  both  prose  and  verse, 
on  his  seventieth  birthday.    Hayne  contributed  the  following  :  — 

"TO    THE   POET   WHITTIER. 

"  From  this  far  realm  of  Pines  I  waft  thee  now 

A  Brother's  greeting,  Poet,  tried  and  true  ; 
So  thick  the  laurels  on  thy  reverend  brow 

We  scarce  can  see  the  white  locks  glimmering  through. 
"  O,  pure  of  thought!  Earnest  in  heart  as  pen, 
The  tests  of  time  have  left  thee  undefiled  ; 
And  o'er  the  snows  of  threescore  years  and  ten 
Shines  the  unsullied  aureole  of  a  child." 

2  "  Response,"  written  in  acknowledgment  of  the  many  messages 
on  Whittier' s  seventieth  birthday  :  — 

"Beside  that  milestone  where  the  level  sun, 

Nigh  unto  setting,  sheds  his  last,  low  rays 
On  word  and  work  irrevocably  done, 
Life's  blending  threads  of  good  and  ill  out-spun, 

I  hear,  O  friends,  your  words  of  cheer  and  praise, 
Half  doubtful  if  myself  or  otherwise.    .    .   ." 

Poems,  409. 


[    2OO    ] 

to  me  perfect !  There  are  in  it,  a  delicacy,  grace,  feel 
ing  and  true  manliness,  embodied  in  language  equally 
terse  and  vigorous,  which  altogether  render  it  a  quite 
remarkable  little  poem.  How  much  more  can  be  con 
veyed  in  a  half  dozen  poetic  lines,  managed  as  you 
manage  them,  than  in  pages  of  ordinary  prose ! 

You  "  trust  that  the  several  sections  are  beginning 
to  understand  each  other  better ! "  Candidly,  I  believe 
they  are,  and  this  the  work  of  reconciliation  would  ad 
vance  "toward  the  perfect  day,"  were  it  not  for  one 
ugly  element  of  discord;  I  mean,  the  disgraceful  efforts 
of  such  men  as  Conkling,  Elaine,  Chandler,  et  id  omne 
genus,  who  seem  determined  to  re-open  old,  fast-healing 
wounds,  and  to  "  set  the  two  sections  by  the  ears  again  ! " 

But  I  hope,  nay  I  believe  that  they  cannot  succeed. 
Pres.  Hayes  seems  firm  enough,  and  the  Southern 
people  cannot  but  regard  him  kindly  and  with  confi 
dence,  since  his  conduct  towards  Louisiana,  and  my 
recently  forlorn  and  prostrate  State,  South  Carolina. 
It  was  his  plain  duty  under  the  laws  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  the  laws  of  humanity,  to  free  those  States  from 
the  grasp  of  savages  and  aliens,  but  so  seldom  has  duty 
been  performed  of  late  years  by  those  in  "  high  places," 
that  when  Pres.  Hayes  manfully  performed  his,  our 
people  were  actually  bewildered;  they  could  not  credit 
the  evidence  of  their  senses.  Then  came  a  great  joy, 
which  has  settled  down  into  a  sentiment  of  quiet  grati 
tude  towards  him  who  refused  to  sanction  any  longer 
a  monstrous  crime. 

It  distresses  me  to  learn  of  your  continued  ill  health. 
Come  South  if  you  possibly  can.  Such  a  change  might 
prolong  your  invaluable  life.  Should  you  visit  our 
locale,  of  course,  my  home  will  be  yours.  A  very  hum- 


C 

ble  home;  but  I  wouldn't  feel  embarrassed  in  wel 
coming  you ;  for  I  know  how  simple  your  habits  are. 
My  wife  most  cordially  joins  in  this  invitation. 

You  say  that  you  hope  "  I  am  well  paid  for  my 
poems."  I  recd.  e.g.  $50.°°  for  the  poem  just  out  in 
"  Scribner." '  This  is  by  far  the  largest  sum  I  have 
ever  got  for  any  poem.  For  shorter  pieces  I  receive 
from  5  and  8  to  10  dollars.  I  labor  under  the  disad 
vantage  of  being  far  removed  from  the  centres  of  lit 
erary  activity,  can  make  no  personal  bargains,  and 
receive  less  than  Northern  writers. 

You,  Mr  Whittier,  are  the  only  Northern  littera 
teur  who  has  ever  done  me  the  honor  of  placing  my 
poems  in  a  published  collection  of  verse.2 

I  have  answered  your  questions  very  frankly  as  I 
know  you  meant  me  to  do. 

When  your  health  permits,  please  write  to  me.  I 
am  a  very  lonely  man,  lost  in  these  vast  pine  woods, 
with  not  one  sympathetic  companion  outside  my  im 
mediate  family. 

Ever  most  faithfully 

PAUL  H.  HAYNE. 

Did  "  Unveiled  "  in  "  Scribner  "  please  you  ?  You  '11 
tell  me  frankly  if  it  did  not. 

1  "  Unveiled, "  dedicated  to  W.  C.  Bryant,  Scribner' 'j  Magazine, 
Jan.,  1878. 

2  Whittier  included  in  Songs  of  Three  Centuries,  which  he  edited 
in  1876,  two  of  Hayne's  poems,  "  Pre-Existence  "  and  "  From  the 
Woods." 


From    PAUL   H.    HAYNE 

" Copse  Hill"  Georgia  Rail  Road, 
February  8/£,  1878. 

MY   VENERATED    FRIEND  : 

I  deeply  appreciate  the  kindness  of  yours  of 
the  2n.d  inst. 

'T  is  encouraging  to  learn  that  the  Simms  "  Monody  " 
struck  you  so  favorably,  and  that  "  Unveiled  "  you 
deem  "  excellent."  Both  the  poems  have  won  a  marked 
success.  Bryant  has  earnestly  commended  them,  and 
Stedman,  writing  me  from  New  York,  alludes  to  these 
"  Odes  "  in  a  manner  I  cannot  forget.  You  know  how 
very  subtle  and  aesthetic  a  critic  Stedman  is  ? 

Your  offer  of  helping  me  to  a  place  under  Govern 
ment  in  Carolina  or  Georgia  is  pre-eminently  char 
acteristic,  my  friend,  of  your  genial  nature,  and  true 
sympathies.  I  do  not  feel  your  kindness  one  whit  the 
less,  because  in  this  case  I  cannot  avail  myself  of  it. 
The  truth  is  that  my  health  needs  absolutely  the  air 
and  quiet  of  the  country.  Were  I  once  to  be  "  ca- 
binned,  cribbed,  confined  "  in  any  town  office,  a  very 
few  months  would  consign  me  to  the  grave !  But 
thanks,  a  thousand  times,  for  your  suggestion  ! 

There  is  however,  I  have  been  thinking,  another 
mode  in  which  either  Mr.  Bryant,  or  Mr.  Longfellow 
or  yourself  might  do  me  an  inestimable  service.  I  say 
"might  do,"  for  of  course  I  cannot  tell  how  far  your 
powers  or  his  may  extend  in  the  direction  I  am  about 
to  specify. 


The  position  of  a  Southern  poet  in  this  country,  is 
sadly  anomalous.  To  you,  I  may  say,  just  as  if  I 
were  addressing  my  own  father,  and  without  fear  of 
miscomprehension,  that  anything  harder,  more  terri 
bly  exacting,  than  the  20  years  of  labor  by  which  I  have 
gained  my  present  literary  position  (however  humble) 
it  would  be  impossible  to  conceive  !  Now,  I  have 
reached  my  47th  year ;  and  have  on  hand  a  mass  of 
poems,  many  of  them  the  best  I  ever  composed,  and 
all  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  quite  eno'  to  fill  a 
duodecimo  vol.  of  100,  or  150  pages,  and  yet,  I  feel 
sure  that  I  could  not  obtain  a  publisher.  I  mean  a 
publisher  who  would  adventure  even  a  small  edition  at 
his  own  risk.1  Feeling  (let  me  say  this  to  you  in  sa 
cred  confidence),  that  my  life-term  draws  towards  its 
close,  and  naturally  desirous  to  put  myself  once  more 
on  record,  I  would  give  much  to  print  the  lyrics  re 
ferred  to;  but  without  some  influence  such  as  North 
ern  author  could  give,  it  is  out  of  the  question  !  As 
previously  intimated,  no  such  influence  may  rest  with 
you,  or  Mr.  Bryant,  or  Mr.  Longfellow ;  but  if  it 
really  should  be  in  your  power  or  their's,  to  help  me  to 
a  publisher,  I  think  you  will  not  fail  me.  I  would  beg 
you  to  accept  the  dedication  of  the  volume  to  be  called 
simply  cc  Muscadines"  from  the  ist  poem  in  it. 

There  is  yet  another  topic,  upon  which  at  my  aged 
mother's  special  request,  I  desire  to  consult  you.  My 
mother  now  in  her  jiat  year,  is  the  widow  of  a  U.  S. 
Naval  officer.  When  as  far  back  as  September  1832, 
my  father  Lieut.  Paul  H.  Hayne,  died  of  yellow 
fever  at  Pensacola  (Fla.)  while  in  active  service  aboard 

1  Hayne' s  Poems  were  published,  with  a  biographical  sketch  by 
Margaret).  Preston,  by  D.  Lothrop  &  Company,  Boston,  1882. 


C 

the  U.  S.  ship  "  Vincennes,"  my  mother,  being  then 
in  easy  circumstances  as  to  fortune,  never  thought  of 
applying  to  Government  for  the  "  pension,"  which,  of 
course,  was  her  due.  Years  passed ;  the  Confederate 
war  came,  and  stripped  her,  and  us,  of  almost  every 
thing.  Even  now  we  can  just  manage  to  live.  Don't 
you  think  (if  the  circumstances  were  known  at  Wash 
ington)  the  old  lady  might  secure  this  "  pension." 
Several  times  under  Grant's  administration  we  made 
an  effort  to  bring  the  claim  to  the  notice  of  those  in 
power,  by  employing  an  agent,  but  did  not  succeed. 
The  claim  is  now  on  file  in  the  proper  Department. 
Would  you  advise  me  to  push  it? 

Tho'  you  cannot  travel  now,  surely  it  may  be  pos 
sible  for  you  to  "flit  Southward"  towards  the  Spring? 
If  so,  our  home,  and  hearts  are  open  to  you  always. 
My  wife  says,  she  will  make  "  Copse  Hill "  as  comfort 
able  for  you  as  possible,  and  that  the  "  bonny  brown 
hand  "  shall  be  gladly  employed  in  your  service.  We 
are  the  simplest,  the  least  conventional  people  on  earth ; 
and  be  assured  that  you  will  be  made  to  feel  as  much 
almost  at  ease  as  if  in  your  own  special  domicile  in 
Amesbury  or  Danvers. 

From  M?  TimrodI  have  heard  nothing  directly  for 
a  long  time.  But  some  weeks  since,  the  papers  spoke 
of  her  as  out  of  employment,  and  seeking  a  clerkship 
in  Washington.  I  have  written  her  frequently,  but 
elicited  no  answer.  I  am  puzzled. 

You  ask  how  it  is  that  I  am  an  "  exile  "  from  my 
beloved  State,  Carolina.  Our  house  in  Charleston  was 
destroyed  by  the  bursting  of  a  bomb-shell,  (which 
created  a  large  fire,  sweeping  the  entire  square).  There 
and  then  the  larger  portion  of  my  library,  a  very  rare 


one,  perished.  Again,  Sherman  passing  thro  Colum 
bia,  or  his  troops,  took  from  us  silver  and  plate,  much 
of  it  old  family  plate,  valued  at  $  10,000.  The  banks, 
as  you  know,  all  broke,  so  that  we  lost  our  whole  pro 
perty,  excepting  a  very  few  hundreds.  My  family  were 
refugees  in  Georgia,  when  the  war  closed,  and  I  (not 
being  able  to  get  any  other  work)  took  charge  of  the 
local  department  of  the  "Augusta  Constitutionalist." 
In  8  months,  the  work  (night  work  much  of  it ! )  broke 
me  down  completely !  With  a  few  hundreds,  hardly 
scraped  together,  I  purchased  my  present  humble  home 
in  the  woods,  and  took  charge  of  Pollard's  weekly, 
"Southern  Opinion,"  issued  in  Richmond,  as  literary 
editor.  He  died,  owing  me  nearly  all  my  salary,  of 
which  I  have  never  since  recd  a  solitary  cent !  Since,  I 
have  "eked  out"  a  subsistence  by  composing  essays, 
sketches,  tales,  poems,  etc.  etc.  During  the  entire  year 
of  1876,  I  suffered  from  repeated  hemorrhages  (as 
often  as  two  or  three  times  a  week)  and  have  never 
perfectly  or  radically  recovered.  Now,  you  have  my 
history  !  I  don't  apologize  for  my  perfect  candor, 
nor  the  apparent  egotism  of  all  this.  You  compre 
hend  me !  God  be  with  you !  and  believe  that  you  have 
no  truer  friend,  than 

Yours  ever  faithfully 

*  PAUL  H.  HAYNE. 

P.  S.  Won't  you  think  very  seriously  of  coming 
South  in  the  Spring  ?  You  would  never  regret  it. 


To  

Danvers,  Ajh  Mo.  5,  1878. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

I  am  liable  to  be  called  to  Amesbury  and  New- 
buryport  any  day  next  week :  and  I  could  not  fix  a 
day  for  the  call.  But  I  am  afraid  it  is  not  a  good  thing 
for  thee  to  publish  a  book  of  poems  now,  even  if  a 
publisher  could  be  found,  which  is  not  probable  in  the 
depressed  state  of  business.  Try  to  get  in  the  verse  in 
some  of  the  literary  reviews  or  papers  first.  I  did  not 
venture  to  offer  my  verse  to  a  publisher  until  I  was 
forty  years  old,  and  even  then,  the  profit  in  money  or 
reputation  was  small. 

I  think  thee  have  natural  gifts  and  the  enthusiasm 
which  makes  one  capable  of  much  ;  but  we  must  all 
submit  to  our  limitations,  and  we  cannot  always  do  as 
we  could  wish.  It  is  safest  not  to  contend  with  what 
is  inevitable.  God  leads  us  by  ways  we  do  not  choose, 
often  sadly  against  our  wills,  but,  in  the  end,  it  will  be 
seen  that  he  led  wisely. 

My  health  is  such   that  I  cannot  write  or  study 
without  pain.  This  must  excuse  this  brief  letter. 
Thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


From    LYDIA    MARIA    CHILD 

Wayland,  Oct.  i$tby  1878. 
DEAR  FRIEND  WHITTIER  : 

I  thank  you  heartily  for  your  little  volume  of 
poems,  and  the  kindly  written  words  which  accom 
panied  them.  The  poems,  like  all  you  write,  are  redo 
lent  of  Nature's  fragrance,  and  full  of  balm  for  wounded 
hearts.  The  thoughts  that  breathe  through  the  music 
of  your  rhymes  have  been  full  of  healing  and  of 
strength  for  many  souls. 

A  few  weeks  ago,  I  went  to  see  our  friend,  Ange 
lina  Grimke  Weld,  after  a  separation  of  forty  years.  I 
was  sorry  I  went.  She  did  not  know  me,  and  I  should 
not  have  recognized  her  without  an  introduction. 
We  had  better  have  remained  in  each  other's  memory 
as  we  were  in  the  days  of  youthful  strength  and  cour 
age.  Ever  since  our  sad  meeting,  I  have  been  troubled 
with  the  thought:  —  Will  the  dear  ones  from  whom 
we  parted  here,  seem  so  strange  when  we  meet  again 
in  the  unknown  world?  On  that  subject,  I  am  dis 
turbed  with  continual  unrest.  I  care  nothing  about  a 
continued  existence,  except  as  a  renewal  of  the  bonds 
affection  had  woven  here.  And  when  they  precede  us 
for  many  years,  and  live  in  a  world  whose  laws  are 
totally  unlike  our  own,  how  far  away  their  spirits  must 
get  from  ours  !  That  it  is  not  so,  we  have  no  proof; 
unless  the  weird  phenomena  of  "Spiritualism"  be 
taken  as  evidence.  And  those  phenomena,  though  in 
explicable  by  any  laws  now  understood,  are  as  fantastic 


[    208    ] 

and  unreliable  as  dreams  ;  which  also  are  inexplicable 
by  any  known  laws. 

Alas,  the  curtain  falls  so  heavily,  and  is  so  impene 
trable  !  Only  a  narrow  gleam  at  the  edges  shows  that 
there  is  not  darkness  on  the  other  side. 

I  was  sorry  not  to  see  you  at  Melrose.  Early  in 
November  I  expect  to  go  to  Boston  for  the  winter, 
and  before  the  season  is  over  I  hope  we  may  meet 
some  time  at  our  dear,  good  friends,  the  Sewalls. 

You  have  always  been  a  blessing  to  my  soul,  and  I 
love  you  truly. 

Your  affectionate  old  friend 

L.  MARIA  CHILD. 


From    LYDIA    MARIA   CHILD 


Wayland,  June  i8/£  1879 
DEAR  FRIEND  WHITTIER  : 

My  spirit  has  been  with  yours  a  great  deal, 
during  all  the  circumstances  attendant  upon  the  de 
cease  of  our  honored  friend,  Garrison.  To  you  and  I, 
who  lived  in  the  midst  of  the  obloquy  and  persecu 
tion  that  were  heaped  upon  him  without  measure,  the 
revolution  in  public  sentiment,  indicated  by  the  uni 
versal  laudation,  seems  wonderful  indeed.  And  how 
cheering  it  is  !  How  full  of  encouragement  concerning 
the  future  progress  of  the  human  race  !  If  so  much 
could  be  accomplished,  in  one  generation,  by  a  few 
brave  souls,  against  such  formidable  odds,  what  mar 
vellous  changes  may  be  wrought  in  the  course  of  many 
generations,  each  one  throwing  increasing  light  on  the 
path-way  of  its  successor  ! 

The  newspaper  tributes  were  interesting  and  cheer 
ing,  as  indications  of  a  healthy  change  in  public  senti 
ment;  but  the  heartfelt  tributes  to  our  friend's  memory 
were  beautiful,  in  their  simple  truthfulness  and  genuine 
feeling,  to  a  degree  that  thrilled  the  souls  of  listeners 
and  readers;  yours,  and  Phillips's,  and  Weld's.  No 
marble  mausoleum  inlaid  with  precious  stones,  and 
embowered  in  blossoms,  could  have  formed  a  monu 
ment  so  beautiful.  I  was  glad  to  see  that  you  recog 
nized  his  faith,  and  indicated  your  own,  in  implying 
the  continued  and  active  agency  of  his  spirit.  How 
could  such  a  spirit  die  ?  I  wish  he  could  tell  us  some 
thing  about  it,  in  a  way  we  could  trust. 


C 

But,  assuredly,  my  friend  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
death.  The  whole  universe  is  a  marvellous  evolution 
of  ever  changing  forms.  And  if  the  naked  gibbering 
savage  has  gradually  become  an  Emerson,  a  Whittier, 
a  Garrison,  why  should  not  they  evolve  into  seraphs, 
with  immensely  larger  powers,  acting  under  laws  as 
different  from  those  that  regulate  our  earth,  as  air  is 
from  water  ?  Assuredly,  there  is  no  death.  And,  after 
all,  are  we  not  all  ghosts,  who  for  a  brief  time  appear 
to  traverse  a  small  segment  of  space,  and  then  vanish, 
we  know  not  whither?  It  is  only  the  commonness  of 
our  apparition  and  our  departure  that  prevents  it  from 
seeming  miraculous. 

I  wonder  what  lesson  that  Pocasset  tragedy  T  teaches 
to  your  mind.  To  my  mind,  it  is  the  legitimate  result 
of  long  established  theological  doctrines;  and  a  strik 
ing  proof  of  the  absurdity  and  danger  of  taking  the 
history  of  a  semi-barbarous  people  as  an  inspired 
rule  for  life  in  the  I9th  century.  Clergymen  eulogize 
Abraham  for  his  readiness  to  sacrifice  his  son;  and 
they  praise  God  for  doing  the  same  thing,  because 
blood  was  necessary  for  the  atonement  of  sin ;  and 
then  they  blame  Freeman  for  following  such  sublime 

1  In  May,  1879,  one  Freeman,  a  farmer  at  Pocasset,  Mass.,  took 
the  life  of  his  three-year-old  daughter,  being  deranged  and  brooding 
on  the  story  of  Abraham  and  Isaac. 

Whittier  wrote  in  reply  to  this  letter  :«'...!  trust  with  thee 
that  the  wretched  Pocasset  horror  will  teach  all  honest  expounders  the 
folly  and  danger  of  going  back  to  the  stone  age  for  models  of  right  liv 
ing.  I  am  shocked  by  the  barbarism  and  superstition  of  our  popular 
faith.  There  needs  another  George  Fox,  with  broader  vision,  to  call 
men  from  the  death  of  the  letter  to  the  life  of  the  spirit,  and  to  tread 
under  foot  the  ghastly  and  bloody  materialism  which  survives  among 
us.  .  .  ."  —  Pickard,  Whittier,  650. 


examples.  What  glowing  inconsistency !  All  the  ortho 
dox  preachers  ought  to  be  indicted  as  accomplices 
before  the  murder. 

May  our  Heavenly  Father  bless  you,  dear  friend  ! 
I  love  you  very  sincerely.  Your  old  friend 

L.  MARIA  CHILD. 

I  enclose  a  translation,  hoping  the  spirit  will  move 
you  to  transpose  it  into  the  flowing  melody  of  your 
verse. 


To   HORACE    H.    CURRIER1 

Danvers,  yth  ytb  moy  1879. 
DEAR  H.  H.  C. 

I  was  glad  to  get  thy  two  postals.  The  terrible 
weather  of  the  4th,  and  the  abrupt  change  to  cold  has 
been  hard  to  me :  and  I  am  afraid  still  harder  for 
thee.  We  have  had  no  warm  weather;  it  is  a  lost  art; 
only  hot  and  cold  :  tropic  and  arctic. 

I  have  been  to  see  the  old  homestead  at  Haverhill. 
It  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  one  of  my  old  neighbors 
—  a  Mr.  Geo.  Elliott,  who  is  a  retired  shoe  manufac 
turer.  He  has  cleaned  up  round  the  house  and  clap- 
boarded  it  and  painted  it  on  the  outside,  and  mended 
the  barn,  so  it  looks  pretty  well.  The  inside  is  not 
yet  altered  very  much.  The  clearing  of  the  kitchen 
will  be  a  task  like  that  of  Hercules  and  the  Augean 
stables. 

It  made  me  feel  strange  to  walk  over  the  old  place 
and  sit  by  the  brook  and  look  at  the  old  house  ;  could 
it  be  that  I  was  the  same  person  who  sixty  years  be 
fore  had  been  setting  water  wheels  in  the  brook,  and 
hunting  eggs  in  the  barn  !  Job's  Hill  that  I  thought 
a  mountain,  had  dwindled  into  a  mere  hill.  And 
where  were  Father  and  Mother,  Uncle,  Aunt  and 
sisters?  What  a  dream  is  life?  Here  I  am  left  a  few 
days  more,  waiting  for  the  end  of  it,  yet  with  the 
feeling  that  what  is  called  the  end  is  but  the  open- 

1  Horace  H.  Currier,  a  lawyer  and  an  old  and  dear  friend  of  Whit- 
tier,  died  within  a  few  weeks  after  this  letter  was  written. 


ing  of  a  new  life  beyond.  God  be  merciful  to  us 
all! 

I  presume  by  this  time  you  have  more  boarders. 
Shall  I  send  a  check  for  board  ?  Let  me  know  if  it 
is  not  too  hard  for  thee  to  write,  how  thee  are  and 
if  there  is  anything  I  can  do  for  thee. 

All  send  a  great  deal  of  love  to  thee. 
Aft. 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER 
My  regards  to  Celeste. 


From   OLIVER  WENDELL   HOLMES 

Beverly  Farms,  Mass.  Sept.  jtb  1879. 

MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

Among  the  many  kind  tokens  of  remembrance 
which  greeted  my  seventieth  birthday,  hardly  any  has 
touched  and  gratified  me  so  much  as  your  letter. 
Since  the  iron  gate  has  closed  behind  me  and  I  look 
upon  our  little  group  '  —  the  three  who  are  abreast  of 
me,  or  only  a  step  or  two  in  advance,  —  with  whom 
I  have  been  singing  more  or  less  melodiously  for  half 
a  century,  naturally  enough  they  seem  nearer  to  me 
than  ever  before.  You  know  how  Kings  and  Queens 
in  their  exalted  loneliness  and  social  isolation  always 
address  each  other  as  Brother  and  Sister.  So,  having 
gained  this  lonely  summit  of  seventy  years,  which 
looks  down  a  swift  declivity,  —  I  would  write  to  you, 
to  Emerson,  to  Longfellow,  if  I  felt  that  I  had  the  right 
to  use  the  term.  We  have  all  taken  our  degrees  in  the 


1  Whittier  wrote  Holmes,  12  mo,  17,  1879  :  "^  have 
since  I  met  thee  in  Boston,  thought  of  thy  remark  that  we  four  singers 
seem  to  be  isolated  —  set  apart  as  it  were  —  in  lonely  companionship, 
garlanded  as  if  for  sacrifice,  the  world  about  us  waiting  to  see  who  first 
shall  falter  in  his  song,  who  first  shall  pass  out  of  the  sunshine  into  the 
great  shadow.  There  is  something  pathetic  in  it  all.  I  feel  like  clasp 
ing  closer  the  hands  of  my  companions.  I  realize  more  and  more  that 
fame  and  notoriety  can  avail  little  in  our  situation  ;  that  love  is  the  one 
essential  thing,  always  welcome,  outliving  time  and  change,  and  going 
with  us  into  the  unguessed  possibilities  of  death.  There  is  nothing  so 
sweet  in  the  old  Bible  as  the  declaration  that  '  God  is  love/  " 

Pickard,  Whit  tier,  655. 


[«$] 

"  finishing  "  school  of  life.  I  believe  we  all  have  the 
kindliness  and  the  hopefulness  which  wholesome  age 
ought  to  bring  with  it.  I  know  for  myself  that  I  feel 
an  inexpressible  tenderness  to  all  of  you  three  with 
whom  I  am  floating  on  the  last  of  the  planks  of  which 
the  raft  of  life  is  constructed.  We  all  feel  the  cool 
evening  wind  in  our  faces,  but  I  am  sure  it  does  not 
chill  our  hearts. 

As  for  yourself,  you  must  pardon  me  for  saying 
that  I  confess  a  reverence  as  well  as  admiration  in 
looking  back  over  your  noble  career.  And  so  you 
may  well  believe  that  every  kind  word  you  have  ever 
spoken  to  me,  went  to  my  heart  and  made  me  hap 
pier —  I  hope  better. 

What  can  I  do  now  more  fitting  than  repeat  your 
own  benediction. 

May  God  bless  you,  my  Brother,  and  may  we  meet 
oftener  in  the  world  where  seasons  are  not  counted, 
than  we  have  met  during  these  earthly  lives  of  three 
score  years  and  ten. 

Affectionately  Yours, 

OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES. 


From   EDMUND    CLARENCE   STEDMAN 


71,  West  54/£  St. 
New  York,  Dec.  list,  1879. 

DEAR  MR.  WHITTIER  : 

One  of  the  chief  objects  which  I  had  in  mind, 
when  I  made  an  effort  to  be  present  at  the  breakfast 
to  Dr.  Holmes,1  was  to  avail  myself  of  that  chance  to 
meet  you,  whose  birthday  festival  I  was  unable  to 
participate  in.  For  it  has  been  one  of  the  regrets  of 
my  life  that  I  have  not  met  the  poet  whom  I  have 
loved  and  honored  from  boyhood,  and  whose  verse, 
years  ago,  gave  me  unfailing  hope  and  purpose  when 
I  dreamed  of  yet  doing  some  good  work  in  life,  or 
meditated  upon  the  use  and  nobleness  of  the  poet's 
art  in  the  movement  of  this  workaday  world. 

Well  :  you  were  at  the  gathering,  and  I  failed  to  see 
you,  and  did  not  know  that  you  were  a  guest,  until 
Mr.  Houghton  told  us  that  you  had  left  the  room. 
When  I  realized  that  my  chance  had  passed,  my  regret 
was  so  earnest  that  I  could  not  greatly  enjoy  the  re 
mainder  of  the  festival. 

But  I  hope,  and  mean,  yet  to  see  you  in  person,  if 
I  have  to  make  a  day's  pilgrimage  to  the  town  which 
is  your  home. 

Meanwhile,  I  hope  that  the  purpose  of  this  letter 

1  "  Given  by  the  publishers  of  The  Atlantic  Monthly  in  honor  of 
the  contributor  who,  more  than  any  other  one  man,  had  caused  its 
prosperity,  who  had  been  to  it  the  life  blood  racing  through  its  veins." 

Morse,  Holmes,  ii,  43. 


will  not  be  a  cause  of  embarrassment  to  you,  and  that 
if  I  have  committed  a  fault  in  any  wise,  your  good 
and  kind  heart  will  at  once  implore  you  to  forgive  me. 
Last  month  a  selection  from  my  own  poems  was 
brought  out  in  England,  a  volume  of  which  I  send 
you  by  mail,  the  first  copy  which  I  have  received.  In 
asking  myself  to  whom,  of  all  others,  I  should  prefer 
to  inscribe  this  —  the  most  careful  —  edition  of  my 
poems,  published  across  the  seas,  my  thoughts  at  once 
went  back  to  you,  and  I  ventured  to  begin  the  vol 
ume  with  the  blank  verse  which  I  wrote  when  you 
completed  your  seventieth  year.1 

In  telling  John  Bright  that  I  should  do  this,  my 
American  and  New  England  heart  swelled  with  honest 
pride  when  I  heard  him  break  out  in  a  eulogy  to  your 
honor,  so  full  of  true  appreciation,  of  knowledge  of 
your  writings  and  your  personal  career,  that  I  could  not 
have  doubted  its  sincerity,  even  if  it  had  come  from  a 
less  loyal  and  truthful,  or  less  noble  and  heroic  source. 

Forgive  the  length  and  awkwardness  of  this  letter, 
and  believe  me,  dear  Mr.  Whittier,  most  earnest  in 
my  wishes  that  your  years  may  be  long  in  the  land 
that  claims  you  as  the  most  deserving  and  the  best- 
beloved  of  her  lyric  poets. 

With  much  respect, 

Very  truly  your  friend, 

EDMUND   C.  STEDMAN. 


1  Whittier  acknowledged  the  gift,  izth  mo,  31,  1879.  " 
been  looking  over  thy  beautiful  volume.  .  .  .  Indeed,  if  thee  never 
write  another  stanza,  thy  place  is  assured  in  American  literature,  as  the 
worthy  successor  of  Bryant.  There  is  one  poem  in  thy  volume  which 
has  the  stamp  of  immortality  upon  it.  '  The  Discoverer  *  has  always 
seemed  to  me  one  of  the  most  striking  and  powerfully  suggestive  poems 
of  our  time."  —  Pickard,  Wkittier,  656. 


fo  THOMAS  F.  BAYARD,  U.  S.  SENATOR 

Oak  Knoll,  Danvers,  Mass. 

ind  Mo.  n,  1880. 
HON.  THOS  F.  BAYARD  : 

I  have  read  with  great  satisfaction  thy  views  on 
the  important  question  of  the  Currency.  I  always  be 
lieved  that  the  Greenback  and  Inflation  folly  was  but 
temporary,  and  that  the  nobler  second  thought  of  the 
people  would  set  the  matter  right.  The  faithfulness 
with  which  thou  hast  maintained  thy  views  against 
what  seemed  at  one  time  the  prevailing  drift  of  the 
Democratic  party,  is,  in  the  highest  degree,  honorable 
and  praiseworthy. 

And  here  let  me  thank  thee  for  the  kind  reference 
to  myself  in  thy  speech  on  the  Appropriation  Bill. 
A  Quaker  and  an  Abolitionist,  I  have  been  all  my 
life  opposed  to  slavery.  That  is  now  a  thing  of  the 
past,  and  ever  since  the  war  I  have  ardently  desired  to 
see  the  two  sections  of  the  Union  united  in  peace  and 
harmony.  I  cordially  endorsed  the  speech  of  my  friend 
Gen.  Bartlett.  At  the  same  time,  I  could,  and  can,  but 
insist  that  the  people  of  color,  whose  conduct  during 
the  war  should  entitle  them  to  the  grateful  consider 
ation  of  their  former  masters,  should  be  protected  in 
their  civil  rights.  A  different  and  kindly  treatment  of 
these  people,  at  the  South,  would  unquestionably  have 
secured  their  votes  to  a  great  extent  for  the  candidates 
representing  their  former  masters,  long  before  this. 
With  sentiments  of  respect  I  am 
very  truly  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


From    PAUL   H.  HAYNE 

Copse  Hill,  October  i6th>  1880. 

MY    DEAR    AND    VENERATED    FRIEND  : 

I  thank  you  for  your  letter  of  the  IIth  inst.; 
one  of  the  kindest  and  most  friendly  of  the  many  kind 
and  friendly  letters  you  have  written  me.  As  the  circle 
of  my  correspondence  once  very  large,  gradually  de 
creases,  I  cling  with  added  affection  to  those  corre 
spondents  still,  (as  a  sailor  would  say)  "  to  the  fore," 
and  surely  among  them,  you  stand  pre-eminent.  De 
spite  the  score  of  years  difference  in  our  ages,  I  am 
quite  old  eno'  to  appreciate  all  your  feelings  in  regard 
to  the  advance  of  time ;  and  to  comprehend,  ab  imo 
pectore,  the  half  sadness,  half  resignation,  wherewith  the 
old  must  regard  their  past,  or  I  should  rather  say,  their 
future,  stripped  as  necessarily  it  must  be,  of  many  a 
comfort,  spiritual  no  less  than  bodily,  which  had  once 
cheered  and  sustained  them ! 

Nevertheless,  old  age  when  virtuous  and  honorable 
and  crowned  with  the  laurels  of  well-directed  genius 
(as  in  your  case),  possesses  numerous  alleviations,  and 
that  you  realize  this  great  and  merciful  truth,  seems 
manifest  from  the  tone  of  all  you  have  said  upon  the 
subject.  Never  until  the  senses  utterly  fail,  and  the 
blood  grows  cold  indeed,  can  you  cease  to  derive  hap 
piness  and  consolation  from  Nature,  and  in  the  absence 
of  ancient  friends,  of  comrades  who  have  gone,  in  the 
pathetic  Latin  phrase  "gone  to  join  the  majority" 
(abiit  ad  plures  /)  you  may  find  younger,  perhaps  as 


[    22O   ] 

fervent  companions;  or  —  failing  this  —  you  at  least, 
comprehend  how  day  by  day,  and  hour  by  hour,  you 
are  drawing  nearer  to  the  "  land  of  all  realities,"  and 
to  that  re-union  of  heart  bonds,  which  Death  had  sev 
ered,  a  re-union,  immaculate  and  immortal! 

You  recall  the  great  Roman  philosopher's  "  'Trea 
tise  upon  Old  Age  "  ?  What  a  clever  case  he  makes 
out  in  the  grey  beard  Stoic  !  But  then  he  must  be  pre 
eminently  a  Stoic,  (or  a  man  of  somewhat  callous  feel 
ings),  and  physically  well  preserved,  with  stout  diges 
tion,  and  never  a  twinge  of  neuralgia,  lumbago,  or 
rheumatic  hints  of  any  sort  !! 

For  the  Christian  philosopher,  an  infinitely  higher 
species  of  consolation  may  be  predicted,  —  so  long  as 
heart  and  mind  survive  —  and  he  is  freed  from  abso 
lute,  loathsome  disease.  Is  it  Addison,  or  Steele,  who 
conventionally,  yet  touchingly  compares  a  human  life 
properly  conducted,  to  a  fair  day,  with  its  many  natural 
changes,  and  enjoyments  suited  to  each  ? 

Of  its  sunset  hour  he  discourses  eloquently,  show 
ing  how  the  very  sorrows  about  it,  may  be  glorified 
by  a  serene  soul,  as  clouds  gather  splendor  and  beauty 
from  the  final  rays  of  the  departing  luminary  ! 

How  I  wish  that  a  period  not  very  far  off  perhaps, 
had  arrived,  when  instead  of  these  slow  (!)  processes 
of  steam,  one  could  travel  by  balloons ! !  Assuredly, 
you  should  see  me  at  "  Oak  Knoll,"  dropping  liter 
ally  from  the  clouds,  and  ready  to  admire  with  you, 
the  magnificence  of  your  autumnal  foliage  !  Of  course, 
here,  in  the  Southern  pine  barrens,  we  have  no  such 
splendors,  but  among  the  mountain  ranges  of  our 
country  section,  Autumn  becomes  an  Empress  so 
apparelled,  that  only  the  "  pleasances  of  Paradise,"  I 


verily  believe,  could  excel  the  glory  of  her  investi 
ture  ! 

We  congratulate  your  relatives,  Miss  Abby  and 
Miss  Caroline,  upon  their  safe  return  from  the  Cali 
fornia  visit.  It  must  have  charmed  them  indeed  !  By 
the  way,  I  have  a  number  of  near  relatives  now  living 
in  that  marvellous  State  ;  sons  of  my  uncle,  Gen! 
Robert  Y.  Hayne x ;  and  their  large  families  of  sons 
and  daughters.  One,  DT.  Arthur  Hayne,  resides  in  San 
Francisco ;  the  other,  Allston  Hayne,  in  beautiful 
Southern  Cal.  near  Santa  Barbara. 

I  'm  pleased  to  hear  of  my  young  friend  Phoebe, 
and  of  her  efforts  to  keep  the  household2  lively;  only 

1  Senator  from  South  Carolina  whose  speech  was  the  occasion  of 
Webster's  Reply  to  Hayne,  March,  1830. 

2  The  result  of  this  visit  of  Hayne  to  Oak  Knoll  was  the  poem 
which  T.  W.  Higginson  says  "  is  one  of  the  best  pictures  ever  drawn 
of  Whittier  in  his  home  life."    (Higginson,  Wbittier,  113.) 

"So  'neath  the  Quaker  poet's  tranquil  roof, 
From  all  deep  discords  of  the  world  aloof, 
I  sit  once  more  and  measured  converse  hold, 
With  him  whose  nobler  thoughts  are  rhythmic  gold  ; 
See  his  deep  brows  half-puckered  in  a  knot, 
O'er  some  hard  problem  of  our  mortal  lot, 
Or  a  dream  soft  as  May  winds  of  the  south, 
Waft  a  girl's  sweetness  'round  his  firm,  set  mouth. 

"  Or,  should  he  deem  wrong  threats  the  public  weal, 
Lo,  the  whole  man  seems  girt  with  flashing  steel  ; 
His  glance  a  sword  thrust  and  his  words  of  ire, 
Like  thunder  tones  from  some  old  prophet's  lyre. 
Or  by  the  hearthstone  when  the  day  is  done, 
Mark  swiftly  lanced  a  sudden  shaft  of  fun  ; 
The  short,  quick  laugh,  the  smartly  smitten  knees, 
Are  all  sure  tokens  of  a  mind  at  ease. ' ' 


[   222    ] 

't  is  no  effort  to  her,  I  warrant !  A  naturally  more 
exuberant  child,  one  more  healthful,  and  full  of 
vivacity,  I  have  seldom  seen.  Salute  the  little  maiden, 
for  me,  and  say,  that  Mr.  Hayne  often  thinks  of  her, 
and  always  affectionately.  I  want  her  to  read  St.  Nicho 
las  for  Xmas,  because  I  '11  have  a  poem  therein,  she 
may  like.  Do  give  our  best  remembrances  (my  wife's 
and  mine)  to  all  the  ladies  of  your  household,  and  say 
how  pleasantly  we  recollect  their  beautiful  home,  and 
courteous  attentions  to  us. 

Enclosed  I  send  a  poem '  re-published  from  the 
October  Scribner,  which  may  have  failed  to  meet  your 
eye.  You  spoke  so  kindly  of  "  From  the  Woods,"  ad 
dressed  to  my  "  winsome  woman  "  that  perhaps  you 
may  like  these  verses,  since  you  have  known  her ! 
My  wife  deeply  appreciates  the  affectionate  manner 
in  which  you  always  refer  to  her.  She  invariably  men 
tions  our  visit  to  "  Oak  Knoll "  lovingly,  and  often 
wishes  that  you  were  under  our  own  roof  tree. 

1   "I  would  not  lose  a  single  silvery  ray 

Of  those  white  locks  which,  like  a  milky  way, 
Streak  the  dark  midnight  of  thy  raven  hah- ; 

"  I  would  not  lose,  O  Sweet,  the  misty  shine 
Of  those  half-saddened,  thoughtful  eyes  of  thine, 
Where  love  looks  forth,  touched  by  the  shadows  of  care. 

"Love's  spring  was  fair,  love's  summer  brave  and  bland, 
But  through  love's  autumn  mist  I  view  the  land  — 
The  land  of  deathless  summers  yet  to  be  ; 

"There  I  behold  thee  young  again,  and  bright, 
In  a  great  flood  of  rare,  transfiguring  light  ; 
But  there,  as  here,  thou  smilest,  Love,  on  me. ' ' 
"Love's  Autumn,"  Scribner' '/,  xx,  854;  Oct.,  1880. 


Another,  and  very  different  piece,  I  enclose  for  your 
examination ;  a  piece  provoked  by  what  seemed  to  me 
a  most  ungenerous  "  fling  "  at  Dr.  Ticknor's  poems 
in  a  recent  "Atlantic"  x  To  allow  such  a  verdict  from 
a  magazine  of  authority,  to  go  forth  to  the  world  un- 
contradicted,  would  have  been  nothing  less  than  "  leze 
majestie"  the  majesty  of  death,  and  genius  sanctified 
by  death,  (on  the  part  of  Ticknor's  honest  admirers.) 

Knowing  that  you  are  one  who  never  has  shrunk, 
and  never  can  shrink  from  any  truth  to  which  you 
have  once  borne  testimony,  I  unhesitatingly  quoted 
your  commendatory  note  upon  the  writer  in  question, 
and  his  poems.  I  know  what  an  effort  writing  now  is 
to  you,  but,  my  friend,  when  you  can  send  us  a  letter 
however  brief,  it  will  be  especially  appreciated.  And 
now,  with  my  wife's  love  and  all  good  wishes, 
Believe  as  ever 

Faithfully  and  affectionately  Yrs. 

PAUL  H.  HAYNE. 

P.  S.  Mr.8  Hayne  says,  that  if  at  any  time  you  find 
it  convenient,  she  would  be  delighted  to  receive  one 
of  your  Ms.  poems  to  keep! 

1  The  Atlantic,  Nov.,  1880,  has  a  short  review  of  Poems  of  Frank 
O.  Ticknor,  M.D.  (Philadelphia,  1879),  for  which  Hayne  wrote  an 
introduction.  Dr.  Ticknor  (1822-1874)  was  a  Georgian  physician 
whose  poems  of  the  Civil  War  were  popular  in  the  South.  The  re 
viewer  termed  this  volume  of  verse  "an  unnecessary  addition  to  the 
unhealthily  enormous  list,  "though  approval  is  expressed  of  "the  vig 
orous,  pathetic,  masterly  poem,  '  Little  Giffen,'  "  printed  in  Stedman's 
American  Anthology,  254. 


From  EDWIN  P.  WHIPPLE1 

Boston,  March  5,  1881. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

Thank  you  cordially  for  your  "  King's  Mis 
sive,"  2  and  also  for  the  lines  declaring  that  the  vol 
ume  came  from  an  "  old  friend,"  and  that  friend 
John  G.  Whittier.  And  come  to  think  of  it,  I  do  not 
remember  that  a  shade  has  passed  on  our  friendship 
since  we  first  met  as  critic  and  poet.  Among  the  hun 
dred  notices  I  have  written  of  you,  I  cannot  recall  any 
word  which  did  not  indicate  my  appreciation  of  your 
genius  and  my  love  for  your  character.  Our  friend 
ship,  literary  and  personal,  has  been  one  of  unclouded 
sunshine.  But  who  could  quarrel  with  you,  or  fleer  at 
you  ?  Everybody  who  has  met  you  in  life  knows  that 
you  are  a  "  Friend "  in  an  intenser  sense  than  its 
merely  technical  and  theological  one. 

In  reading  your  latest  volume,  I  feel,  more  and 
more,  that  the  hold  you  have  on  the  public  mind,  is 
primarily  moral.  But  then  your  ethics  are  always 

1  Whittier  often  expressed  his  regard  for  Whipple  (1819-1886). 
He  dedicated  The  Bay  of  Seven  Islands  (1883)  "To   Edwin   P. 
Whipple,  one  of  the  first  to  welcome  my  earliest  volume,  I  offer  the 
latest  as  a  token  of  a  friendship  never  interrupted  and  which  years 
have  only  strengthened."  In  his  Prose  Works,  ii,  3  I  8,  Whittier  writes: 
"  Scarcely  inferior  to  Macaulay  in  brilliance  of  diction  and  graphic 
portraiture,  Whipple  was  freer  from  prejudice  and  passion,  and  more 
loyal  to  the  truth  of  fact  and  history.    He  was  a  thoroughly  honest 
man.   He  wrote  with  conscience  always  at  his  elbow,  and  never  sacri 
ficed  his  real  convictions  for  the  sake  of  epigram  and  antithesis." 

2  The  King's  Missive  and  Other  Poems,  Boston,  1881. 


"  touched  with  or  by  emotion."  The  dread  law  as  it 
awakens  your  conscience  arouses  moral  feeling.  This 
feeling  is  sometimes  righteous  moral  wrath,  sometimes 
persuasive  moral  tenderness  and  compassion ;  but  in 
all  cases  it  tends  to  move  the  hearts  to  which  it  is 
addressed. 

And  then  the  singular  purity  of  your  poetry!  You 
not  only  never  touch  the  sensual,  but  hardly  ever 
touch  even  the  sensuous  elements  which  enter  into  so 
much  of  what  we  still  must  call  good  poetry.  The 
moral  atmosphere  of  everything  you  have  written  is 
as  free  from  taint  as  the  breath  of  a  new  born  babe. 
Therefore,  in  addition  to  your  beautiful  gifts  of  senti 
ment  and  imagination,  I  have  always  considered  you 
one  of  the  great  moral  and  purifying  forces  of  the 
time.  It  must  be  a  solace  to  you  in  your  old  age  that 
the  stream  of  your  verse  has  been  like  that  of  Words 
worth's  river  Duddon  "  To  heal  and  cleanse,  not 
madden  or  pollute."  Indeed,  in  reading  this  last  vol 
ume,  I  feel  as  if  my  soul  had  taken  a  bath  in  holy 
water. 

How  I  could  run  on,  my  dear  Whittier,  in  this 
strain  !  But  I  will  tire  you  no  more.  My  wife  joins 
with  me  in  most  affectionate  greetings.  May  we  see 


you  soon ! 


Ever  affectionately  yours, 

E.  P.  WHIPPLE 


Danvers,  Mass. 

ii  Mo.  27,  1881. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

I  have  been  gratified  from  time  to  time  by  the 
receipt  of  publications  connected  with  the  excellent 
society  of  which  thou  art  secretary,  and  in  the  objects 
of  which  I  heartily  sympathise.  It  is  doing  a  noble 
work,  and  I  wish  we  had  one  like  it  on  this  side  of 
the  water.  Exhausted  by  the  long  hard  anti-slavery 
struggle,  I  have  been  too  much  of  an  invalid  for  some 
years  past  to  do  much  myself,  beyond  giving  my 
name  and  countenance  to  humanitarian  efforts.  But  I 
am  glad  to  notice  thy  new  activity  and  devotion  to 
good  works. 

I  think  thee  sent  me  a  pamphlet  on  Geo.  Fox  and 
a  paper  concerning  what  is  called  the  "Salvation 
Army."  I  glanced  over  the  paper,  and  found  an  arti 
cle  on  Abraham's  attempt  at  human  sacrifice,  which 
seemed  to  me  a  dangerous  one.  We  have  now  within 
sight  of  where  I  [am]  writing,  a  man  confined  for 
sacrificing  his  daughter,  from  what  he  regarded  a  sense 
of  duty.  He  justifies  himself  by  Abraham. 

I  read  with  interest  thy  article  on  the  Irish  Ques 
tion  and  think  some  of  its  suggestions  wise.  But  I  see 
nothing  for  the  Gov'  to  do  but  to  lay  a  heavy  hand 
on  the  brutal  and  cowardly  assassins  who  think  it 
right  and  proper  to  murder  a  neighbor  who  is  honest 
enough  to  pay  his  debts.  It  is  impossible  to  reason 
with  unreason,  like  this.  It  seems  to  me  that  such 


[   227   ] 

men  as  Bright  and  Forster  have  gone  to  extremes  in 
their  concessions  to  Ireland  so  far  as  rent  is  con 
cerned. 

Wishing  thee  abundant  success  in  thy  work  so  far 
as  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  Will,  and  with 
a  pleasant  remembrance  of  thy  visit  to  me  many  years 
ago,  I  am  truly  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


From  OLIVER   WENDELL    HOLMES 

Boston,  April  isty  1882. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  thank  you  for  your  most  kind  and  touching 
letter.  It  is  too  true  that  we  stand  in  a  certain  sense 
alone.  When  Bryant  fell,  the  cold  wind  struck  full 
upon  us.  Now  Longfellow  is  gone,1  we  seem  to  hear 
our  roots  cracking.  I  could  have  wished  you  had  been 
in  the  library  where  lay  all  that  was  left  of  him  whom 
we  knew  so  well  in  life.  "  Dead  he  lay  among  his 
books."  His  brother  read  some  sweet  passages  [from] 
his  poems,  and  some  of  those  Scriptural  words  which 
lie  in  our  hearts  beneath  all  that  has  been  written 
since,  or  ever  can  be  written.  He  read  with  unfalter 
ing  voice,  and  many  times  the  tones  were  so  like  those 
of  his  brother  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  poet  were  softly 
uttering  his  own  requiem.  All  was  tranquil,  lovely,  as 
it  should  have  been.  A  branch  of  palm  (I  thought  it 
was),  a  passion  flower,  nothing  or  next  to  nothing  but 
these  lay  on  or  by  the  coffin.  At  the  tomb  only  a  few 
words  were  spoken,  and  the  dark  burden  hiding  what 
was  so  lately  radiant  with  clear  and  serene  intelligence 
descended  into  the  silent  darkness  where  more  than 
twenty  years  ago  the  beautiful  wife,  so  fitting  a  com 
panion  for  such  a  poet,  was  laid  in  the  midst  of  an 
guish  that  could  find  no  words. 

I  do  not  know  what  I  shall  be  able  to  say  or  write. 

1  Longfellow  died  March  24,  1882.  Holmes' s  tribute,  with  com 
ments  on  Longfellow's  writings,  is  in  Proceedings  Massachusetts  His 
torical  Society,  1881-82,  xxix,  269-275. 


I  have  promised  the  Historical  Society  to  do  some 
thing  at  their  next  meeting.  In  the  meantime  I  have 
to  leave  Boston  early  next  week  to  join  my  wife  and 
two  of  my  children  at  Lakewood  in  New  Jersey, 
where  my  youngest  son l  has  been  passing  the  winter 
on  account  of  asthma,  which  has  found  great  relief  in 
that  sandy  spot.  I  myself  feel  tired,  I  confess  it  — 
tired  with  a  long  winter's  lecturing,  with  a  correspond 
ence  which  has  become  cruel,  and  a  cold  which  has 
lasted  longer  than  common  —  three  or  four  weeks 
—  and  leaves  me  feeling  my  work  more  of  a  burden 
than  I  could  wish.  But  your  loving  words  are  always 
a  cordial,  and  I  thank  you  from  my  heart  for  all  those 
expressions  of  esteem  and  affection  of  which  I  feel  you 
to  be  so  much  worthier  than  myself,  and  send  back  to 
you,  adding  my  reverence  to  my  love. 

Always  faithfully  yours, 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 

"  The  third  child,  Edward  Jackson,  inherited  much  of  his 
father's  wit  and  humor  ;  but  unfortunately  also  inherited  the  asthma. 
This  hampered  him  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  gave  him,  in  fact,  no 
chance  at  all  in  life,  and  finally  so  undermined  his  constitution  that  he 
died  untimely  in  1884."  Morse,  Ho/mes,  i,  172. 


To   CHARLES    P.   PRESTON 

Oak  Knol/y  Danvers,  Mass. 

%tb  mo.  1883. 

HON.  CHARLES  P.   PRESTON. 
DEAR  FRIEND  : 

I  very  much  regret  that  I  am  not  able  to  be 
with  you  at  the  gathering '  this  evening.  I  am,  it  is 
true,  better  acquainted  with  the  good  and  true  man 
whom  you  deservedly  honor  on  this  occasion,  as  a  kind 
friend  and  neighbor,  a  worthy  citizen  and  wise  legis 
lator,  than  as  a  minister,  but  the  fact  that  he  has  ac 
ceptably  held  his  pulpit  for  twenty  years,  is  proof 
that  he  has  done  good  service  in  it.  During  this  long 
period  I  have  never  heard  that  his  parish  has  been 
troubled  by  the  bodily  presence  of  that  evil  and  disre 
putable  personage  with  whom  his  predecessor,  Parson 
Parris  fought  such  a  losing  battle.  As  a  consequence 
of  this,  he  has  had  no  occasion  to  spend  his  time  in 
searching  for  witches  among  the  elderly  ladies  of  his 
congregation  ;  and  the  sound  orthodoxy  of  his  people 
under  his  ministrations,  has  rendered  heresy  hunting 
so  unnecessary  that  the  solitary  Quaker  who  has  so 
journed  within  the  parish  limits,  still  remains  un 
hanged. 

1  The  twentieth  anniversary  of  the  installation  of  Rev.  Charles  B. 
Rice,  over  the  First  Church  of  Danvers.  It  was  in  this  parish,  then 
Salem  Village,  that  the  witchcraft  delusion  first  appeared  in  1692  and 
at  the  parsonage  of  Rev.  Samuel  Parris,  its  minister. 


Pleasantry  apart,  I  beg  leave  to  join  my  congratula 
tions  with  yours,  with  all  good  wishes  for  the  Chris 
tian  gentleman  who  is  the  recipient  of  them. 
I  am  very  truly  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


From  OLIVER   WENDELL  HOLMES 

Boston,  Nov.  \th  1883 


MY  DEAR  WHITTIER: 

Many  thanks  for  the  dear  little  volume  of 
poems  '  you  sent  me.  I  have  just  been  reading  over 
those  I  remembered,  and  others  I  was  not  sure  that  I 
had  ever  seen. 

I  left  off  with  my  eyes  full  of  tears.  There  is  so 
much  hope  and  sweetness  and  human  sympathy  run 
ning  through  these  poems  that  they  stir,  —  yes,  as  I 
write  there  goes  the  tear  which  I  thought  would  behave 
itself  running  down  my  cheek.  I  am  not  ashamed  of 
my  womanly  tribute,  for  if  an  old  man  has  not  a  few 
drops  of  his  mother's  milk  left  in  his  veins,  he  has 
lived  too  long.  If  I  had  to  take  my  choice,  I  think  I 
should  select  "  How  the  Women  went  from  Dover."  2 
It  gave  me  the  old  thrill  as  I  read  it  —  it  is  alive  all 
over.  I  do  not  know  that  you  will  approve  my  choice 
and  I  am  not  sure  that  I  ought  not  to  have  selected 
"  What  the  Traveller  said  at  Sunset  "  3  which  I  read 

1    Tbe  Bay  of  Seven  Islands  and  Other  Poems,  1883. 

2  "The  tossing  spray  of  Cocheco's  fall 

Hardened  to  ice  on  its  rocky  wall, 

As  through  Dover  town  in  the  chill,  gray  dawn, 

Three  women  passed,  at  the  cart-tail  drawn." 

Poems,  130. 

3  "The  shadows  grow  and  deepen  round  me, 

I  feel  the  dew-fall  in  the  air  ; 
The  muezzin  of  the  darkening  thicket, 
I  hear  the  night-thrush  call  to  prayer." 

Poems,  463. 


[»33] 

with  deep  emotion.  God  bless  you,  dear  Whittier, 
and  keep  you  singing  until  the  angels  are  out  of  pa 
tience  waiting  for  you ! 

Affectionately  Yours, 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 


From  WILLIAM    CLAFLIN1 

Boston,  Feby.  4,  1884. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

It  does  my  heart  good  to  hear  from  you.  We 
did  not  know  where  you  were,  whether  at  Oak  Knoll 
or  Amesbury. 

The  winter  is  wearing  away  and  I  fear  you  are  weary 
of  cold  and  confinement.  However,  the  sun  is  daily 
going  higher  and  soon  the  buds  will  begin  to  swell, 
reminding  us  of  the  approach  of  spring  and,  I  trust, 
the  hope  of  comfort  to  you. 

My  dear  wife  is  a  hermit  at  the  Old  Elms,3  with 
a  servant  and  "no  company"  except  her  husband 
occasionally  and  the  children.  The  noise  of  the  city 
with  the  anxiety  of  home,  brought  sleepless  nights  and 
"  dreadful "  days.  She  seems  better  and  I  hope  she 
will  be  well  enough  next  week  to  follow  the  birds 
south. 

Now  we  think  a  change  will  do  you  much  good, 
and  the  house,  63  Mt.  Vernon  St.,  will  have  only  Ar 
thur,  his  lovely  wife,  and  Mrs.  Freeland,  whose  guest 
you  will  be,  if  you  will  take  your  old  room  and  my 
library  in  possession.3  You  may  come  and  go,  sleep, 

1  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  1869,  1870,  1871. 

*  The  Claflin  estate  at  Newtonville. 

3  In  Mrs.  Claflin' s  Personal  Reminiscences  of  Wbittier,  82,  is 
quoted  a  letter  from  Whittier  :  "I  will  tell  thee  now  what  I  could 
not  say  at  thy  house,  that  I  enjoyed  every  moment  of  my  long  visit 
with  you.  Of  the  special  kindness  with  which  I  was  received  into 
thy  household  circle,  I  can  only  say  that  I  wish  that  I  deserved  it." 


eat,  write  and  have  your  friends  to  visit,  as  independ 
ently  as  Robinson  Crusoe  on  his  island. 

I  expect  to  be  absent  four  weeks,  and  Mrs.  C.  may 
remain  longer.  There  is  an  additional  attraction  for 
you  which  I  almost  forgot.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  [T.  B.] 
Aldrich  are  fairly  settled  in  a  lovely  home '  with  lots 
of  bric-a-brac  and  beautiful  books  around  them.  They 
will  be  delighted  to  see  you  at  any  and  all  times. 

Now  do  not  fail  to  come. 

Mayor  Martin2  was  perhaps  a  little  hasty,  but  his 
anger  was  righteous.  The  School  Committee  has  been 
run  by  a  ring  who  have  bought  supplies  in  a  regular 
Tweed  way  and  had  almost  absolute  sway,  the  mem 
bers  holding  three  or  four  chairmanships  each.  The 
Mayor  divided  the  chairmanships  properly,  which 
produced  the  explosion.  The  public  generally  sustain 
the  Mayor. 

Genl.  Sherman  is  not  a  Catholic,  probably  has  not 
much  religious  interest,  but  is  a  true,  honest,  liberal, 
large-hearted  man.  He  has  excellent  administrative 
abilities  and  would  make  an  excellent  President.  His 
wife  is  a  recluse  and  would  have  no  influence  upon 
his  public  acts.  John  Sherman  would  much.  He  has 
great  love  for  the  General  and  would  assist  him  to  the 
best  of  his  ability.  If  we  could  be  sure  to  nominate 
and  elect  Sherman,  I  should  sleep  easy.  I  think  Ed 
munds  could  carry  New  York  and  quite  likely  the 
country  if  he  could  be  nominated,  but  I  fear  he  would 
wreck  his  party  in  the  same  way  John  Adams  did. 
His  strength  lies  in  his  criticism.  He  is  a  pessimist, 
and  wants  to  do  nothing  in  government  as  long  as 

1  No.  59  Mount  Vernon  Street,  Boston. 
*  General  A.  P.  Martin,  Mayor  of  Boston. 


there  is  a  way  to  avoid  it.  His  acquiescence  is  gener 
ally  all  you  can  obtain.  Lincoln  is  a  good  man,  and 
will  do  well,  if  elected.  His  strength  is  "sentiment." 
Elaine  is  dangerous  if  nominated,  and  dangerous  if 
not,  but  less  as  a  follower  than  a  leader.  However, 
we  shall  nominate  a  good  man  and  be  likely  to  elect 
him,  as  we  are  less  divided  than  the  Democrats. 

Goodby,  faithfully  yours 

W.  CLAFLIN. 
Remember  me  to  the  ladies. 


From   THOMAS   CHASE1 

Haverford  College, 

\\tb  Mo.  4-tb,  1884. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER  : 

I  congratulate  thee  on  the  tokens  of  apprecia 
tion  of  thy  genius  and  of  the  use  thou  hast  made  of 
thy  powers,  which  came  from  many  quarters  at  the 
recent  celebration  at  Providence.  For  myself,  I  regret 
that  a  pressure  of  other  engagements  prevented  my 
making  as  complete  a  study  of  my  subject  as  I  could 
wish. 

There  is  some  talk  of  printing  the  proceedings  in 
a  more  permanent  form  than  the  newspaper  report. 
If  I  have  misapprehended  any  facts  or  failed  to  notice 
anything  thou  would  like  to  have  noticed,  I  shall  feel 
greatly  obliged  if  thou  will  send  me  word. 

Allow  me  to  say  that  there  would  be  no  want  of 
delicacy  and  no  forwardness  on  thy  part,  if  thou  were 
to  point  out  any  department  of  thy  writing,  or  any  of 
thy  aims,  which  I  have  not  spoken  of,  or  to  which  I 
have  not  done  justice. 

Least  of  all  should  thou  feel  any  delicacy  in  speak 
ing  of  anything  thou  would  wish  referred  to,  of  a  per 
sonal  character.  Thus  I  intend  to  introduce  in  any 
further  publication  an  extract  from  thy  lines  to  Wm. 
Lloyd  Garrison,  speaking  of  him  among  thy  friends. 
I  had  marked  an  extract  for  quotation,  but  left  it  out 
'•  Appendix  L,  page  284. 


thinking  I  had  already  said  enough  about  the  anti- 
slavery  struggle,  losing  sight  for  the  moment  of  the 
fact  that  he  ought  to  be  commemorated  among  thy 
friends. 

What  more  ought  I  to  say  of  thy  mother  and  sister  ? 
Am  I  right  in  thinking  the  picture  of  the  reader  in  the 
"Demon  of  the  Study  "'  to  have  been  suggested  by 
thy  sister?  Do  I  rightly  refer  to  "In  School  Days"* 
as  autobiographical  ? 

The  report  of  my  address  in  the  [Providence] 
Journal  has  several  misprints,  most  of  which  are  per 
haps  obvious.  The  word  "  not "  is  omitted  in  the 
sentence  which  ought  to  read,  "  The  great  bards  of 
history  have  not  sung  merely  to  amuse."  Line  26, 
2d  column,  for  "  noblest  lives  "  read, "  noblest  loves." 
In  the  remarks  on  "  Snow-Bound,"  I  call  the  people 
of  N.  E.  sturdy ,  and  with  glimpses  of  the  lore  of  Greece 
and  Rome.  Thy  religious  poetry  I  call  "songs  of  the 
spirit,"  not  "spirits."  The  quotations  from  thy  poems 
have  several  misprints,  as  thou  wilt  observe.  Yet  the 
report  is  on  the  whole  creditable,  especially  as  I  did 
not  read  the  proof,  w 

It  is  with  a  view  to  historical  accuracy,  and  a  desire 
to  hand  down  perhaps  to  after  days  a  juster  view  both 
of  thy  aims  and  thy  achievements,  that  I  venture  to 
trouble  thee  with  these  requests. 

With  sincere  gratitude  and  respect,  and  all  good 
wishes,  I  am 

Very  truly  thy  friend, 

THOMAS  CHASE. 

1   Poems,  6.  *  Poems,  407. 


From  AMELIA  B.  EDWARDS 

"The  Larches, 

Westbury  on  'Trym,  Bristol, 
February  n,  1885. 

DEAR  POET,  SUBSCRIBER  AND  FRIEND  : 

I  have  to  tell  you  of  a  curious  and  unfortu 
nate  mistake  which  has  befallen  of  late,  and  which  has 
diverted  from  its  rightful  owner  a  long  letter,  written 
some  six  weeks  ago  by  me  to  you.  The  letter  was  a 
grateful  and  hearty  one,  I  know,  but  I  no  longer  very 
clearly  remember  its  contents.  I  thanked  you  for  es 
pousing  the  cause  of  our  explorations — a  cause  to 
which  I  have  devoted  much  time  and  work,  and  for 
which  I  have  made  very  heavy  sacrifices,1  and  I  know 
I  told  you  how  very  highly  I  value  your  beloved  and 
honored  name  in  our  list  of  American  subscribers, 
which  already  includes  D'  O.  W.  Holmes  and  my 
good  friend,  James  Russell  Lowell.  And  I  said  therein 
how  very  dear  some  of  your  poetry  was  to  me,  and  how, 
years  ago,  I  robbed  you  of  "Barbara  Fritchie"  for  a 
volume  of  selected  poetry  that  I  compiled  for  Baron 
Tauchnitz's  Series.  More  than  this  I  cannot  remember. 
The  fate  of  the  letter  is  somewhat  droll.  My  friend 
and  invaluable  coadjutor,  the  Revd  W.  C.  Winslow, 
when  he  sent  me  a  copy  of  your  charming  letter  to 
himself,  asked  to  be  allowed  to  see  a  copy  of  my  reply 

1  Miss  Edwards' s  efforts  to  arouse  interest  in  the  Egyptian  Explora 
tion  Fund  were  indeed  exhausting,  and  undoubtedly  hastened  her  death 
after  her  lecture  tour  in  the  United  States  in  1890. 


[  240  ] 

to  you.  Instead  of  sending  him  a  copy,  I  sent  him  the 
letter  itself,  addressed  to  you,  and  begged  him,  when  he 
had  read  it,  to  post  it.  He  overlooked  this  request, 
believed  it  to  be  a  copy  and  his  own,  put  it  in  a  col 
lection  of  autographs,  and  finally,  but  very  reluctantly, 
yielded  it  to  a  lady  who,  on  the  strength  of  so  worthless 
a  gift,  subscribed  $10  to  the  Exploration  Fund  !  Who 
the  lady  is  I  know  not;  but  she  has  your  letter. 

Mr.  Winslow  is  overwhelmed  with  contrition,  and 
has  begged  me  to  write  and  explain.  You,  I  am  sure, 
will  enjoy  the  comedy  of  the  incident  and  the  catas 
trophe  of  the  ten-dollar  lady,  and  will  condone  our 
friend's  mistake. 

Once  more,  I  thank  you  for  your  much  prized  co 
operation,  and  remain,  dear  sir, 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

AMELIA  B.  EDWARDS. 


From   OLIVER   WENDELL    HOLMES 

Beverly  Farms,  Mass. 

Sept.  7th  1885. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

Thanks  for  your  plenary  absolution  for  the  sin 
of  publishing  your  private  letter.1  I  am  glad  I  did,  for 
I  have  a  right  to  the  pleasure  you  speak  of,  that  of 
seeing  our  names  mentioned  together.  I  had  just  sent 
a  note  down  stairs,  for  the  Post  Office,  directed  to 
Rev.  Charles  Wingate,  in  reply  to  an  invitation  to  be 
at  the  meeting  where  you  are  to  see  your  old  school 
mates  2  assembled.  I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  be  there, 
but  my  letter  will  carry  my  best  wishes. 

As  to  Walt  Whitman,  some  of  his  poems  are  among 
the  most  cynical  instances  of  indecent  exposure  I  recol 
lect,  outside  of  what  is  sold  as  obscene  literature.  But 
I  said  to  myself  just  what  you  did  to  yourself — he 
served  well  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  I  do  not 
grudge  him  a  ten  dollar  bill,  —  so  I  sent  word  to  Mr. 
Donaldson  that  I  was  ready  with  my  subscription 
at  any  moment.  You  ask  me  for  my  advice.  I  am 
ashamed  to  advise  a  man  like  you,  but  we  are  told  that 
it  is  a  good  thing  to  clothe  the  naked,  and  I  remem- 

1  Whi trier's    birthday   congratulations  to    Holmes,  8th  mo,    27, 
1885,  turned   on  the  remark   an   "innocent"  made  to  Whittier's 
father,  "  I  am  glad  you  and  I  are  alive."   Holmes  allowed  the  Boston 
Transcript  to  print  the  letter,  Aug.  31,  1885,  because  it  was  "too 
agreeable  to  be  kept  as  private  property." 

2  The  Reunion  of  the  surviving  students  of  the  Haverhill  Academy, 
1827-30,  at  Haverhill,  Sept.  10,  1885.   Poems,  239. 


ber  that  the  good  Samaritan  set  the  lame  traveller  on 
his  own  ass. 

Now  Walt  Whitman  stands  as  stark  naked  before 
the  public,  in  "Leaves  of  Grass"  as  nudity  can  dis 
array  itself.  We  are  not  asked  to  set  him  on  an  ass, 
but  to  put  him  in  a  go-cart  of  some  kind  or  other, 
which  is  nearly  the  same  thing.  I  think  it  is  a  pleasant 
thing  enough  to  do  it  and,  though  I  have  not  made 
out  a  very  logical  case,  I  think  you  may  honestly  do 
it  on  the  ground  you  mention. 

Many  thanks  for  your  kind  invitation  to  call  on 
you  at  Oak  Knoll.  It  is  not  impossible  that  I  may 
come  some  day  before  I  leave  for  Boston,  but  I  shall 
let  you  know  beforehand,  and  ask  you  if  the  time  I 
fix  is  convenient  for  you,  if  I  give  myself  the  great 
pleasure  of  such  a  visit. 

I  hope  you  will  enjoy  the  reunion  with  your  old 
schoolmates. 

Always  affectionately  yours, 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 


To  "THE    BOSTON   TRANSCRIPT"1 

A  Word  of  Explanation 

To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  TRANSCRIPT  : 

I  suppose  it  is  a  necessary  consequence  of 
one's  notoriety  of  any  kind  to  have  all  his  words  and 
acts  regarded  as  public  property  and  subjected  to  ex 
aggeration  and  misrepresentation.  Ordinarily  one  does 
not  find  it  of  much  use  to  complain  of  this  ;  but  there 
are  cases  where  it  seems  a  matter  of  duty  to  make  an 
explanation.  A  friend  recently  informed  me  that  Walt 
Whitman  of  Newark,  N.  J.  was  in  straitened  circum 
stances,  disabled  and  paralytic,  and  that  an  effort  was 
being  made  to  procure  for  him  the  means  of  exercise 
in  the  open  air.  I  did  not  know  him  personally,  and 
had  but  very  slight  knowledge  of  his  writings,  which, 
while  indicating  a  certain  virile  vigor  and  originality, 
seemed  to  me  often  indefensible  from  a  moral  point  of 
view. 

But  I  had  heard  of  his  assiduous  labors  as  a  nurse 
in  Union  hospitals,  and  had  read  his  tender  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  President  Lincoln,  and  with  no  idea 
of  its  being  made  a  matter  of  publicity,  gave  my  mite 
for  the  object  to  which  my  attention  was  called,  stat 
ing  at  the  same  time  my  feeling  in  regard  to  some 
portions  of  Whitman's  writings,  and  my  wish  for  his 
own  as  well  as  the  public's  sake,  for  their  expurgation. 
I  should  be  extremely  sorry  to  have  a  simple  act  of 

1  This  letter  seems  to  have  been  withheld  by  Whittier,  as  it  has  not 
been  found  in  the  Transcript  of  that  period. 


244 

humanity  on  my  part  towards  a  suffering  man  regarded 
as  sanctioning  or  excusing  anything  in  his  writings  of 
an  evil  tendency. 

With  no  wish  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  others,  and 
making  all  charitable  allowance  possible  for  differences 
of  temperament,  education  and  association,  I  must 
confess  to  a  strong  dislike  to  what  is  sometimes  called 
the  sensual  school  of  literature  and  art.  My  friend, 
Dr.  Holmes,  who  was  also  a  contributor,  wishes  me 
to  say  that  his  gift,  like  my  own,  was  solely  an  act  of 
kindness  to  a  disabled  author,  implying  no  approval 
whatever  of  his  writings. 

JOHN  G.   WHITTIER 

Danvers,  Mass. 
[ 1885] 


From  JAMES   RUSSELL   LOWELL 

Deerfoot  Farm, 
Soutbborough,  Mass. 

nth  Nov.  1886. 
DEAR  FRIEND: 

(I  am  almost  tempted  to  call  you  "  dear  old 
friend,"  since  you  insist  on  thinking  yourself  an  aged 
man  when  nobody  else  would  dream  of  calling  you 
so.)  Nothing  could  have  pleased  me  more  than  a  letter 
from  you,  unless  it  were  such  a  letter  as  you  wrote. 

I  am  very  glad  you  liked  my  poor  speech.  I  should 
have  done  better,  but  that  the  Hawthorne  episode ' 
came  to  disturb  me  just  as  I  had  got  under  way.  It 
was  a  shabby  thing  to  do,  but  I  don't  think  he  knew 
how  shabby  it  was.  Had  he  reported  me  accurately,  I 
should  n't  have  minded  so  much,  though  even  if  he 
had,  he  could  n't  have  given  the  context  of  tone,  look 
and  emphasis  which  make  so  large  a  part  of  speech. 
But  it  is  done,  and  can't  be  mended.  I  am  thankful  to 
you  for  your  sympathy,  all  the  same. 

I,  too,  wish  we  might  meet.  Perhaps  some  day  I 
may  run  down  to  Amesbury  (as  I  did  with  Bayard 
Taylor,  ever  so  many  years  ago)  to  talk  over  old  times. 
Meanwhile  I  am  rejoiced  to  infer  from  your  hand- 

1  The  New  York  World  had  published  an  interview  with  Lowell, 
concerning  which  he  wrote  to  the  Boston  Advertiser,  Oct.  26,  1886, 
in  part  :  "  It  never  entered  my  head  that  the  son  of  my  old  and  hon 
ored  friend  was  <  interviewing  'me.  If  it  had,  he  would  have  found 
me  dumb." 


writing  (which  is  just  what  it  was  in  early  Atlantic 
days)  that  you  are  well,  and  am  always, 

Most  heartily  yours 

J.  R.  LOWELL 

P.  S.   I  was  thoroughly  glad  that  Harvard  honored 
herself  by  putting  you  on  her  roll  of  honor.1 
J.   G.   WHITTIER,  LL.D. 

1  Harvard  gave  Whittier  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  in  1886, 
when  the  25Oth  anniversary  of  its  founding  was  celebrated. 


From  CHARLES   C.  CHASE1 

Lowell,  Mass.  Nov.  18,  1887 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

It  may  interest  you  to  know  that  Miss  Elisa 
beth  B.  Livermore,  half-sister  of  Harriet  Livermore,2 
lives  near  me.  She  is  a  very  feeble  old  lady  now ;  her 
age,  if  I  remember  right,  being  84  yrs.  I  had  oc 
casion  to  call  upon  her  not  many  days  since.  I  asked 
her  if  she  had  seen  the  Life  of  Harriet  Livermore  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Livermore,  which  was  published  three  years 
since.  Her  reply  was :  "  No,  I  have  seen  enough  of  her." 
This  reply  confirms  what  I  had  heard  before,  that 
Harriet  was  far  from  being  loved  by  her  younger 
sisters.  Miss  Elisabeth  Livermore  lives  in  a  small  half- 
house  in  Bartlett  St.  next  door  to  my  brother  Samuel's 
house.  Her  life  seems  solitary,  and  she  is  all  alone,  and 
almost  never  has  company.  I  think  she  is  not  happy  in 
the  families  of  her  relatives.  Her  sister  Caroline,  Mrs. 
Judge  J.  G.  Abbott  of  Boston,  died  a  few  months 
since.  Her  sister  Sarah  is  the  wife  of  John  Lattemore, 
Esq.  of  Southbridge,  Mass,  and  her  sister  Mary  Jane 
is  the  wife  of  Hon.  Daniel  Saunders  of  Lawrence. 

A  Lowell  lady  recently  told  me  that  Harriet  Liver- 
more's  father,  Judge  Livermore  of  Lowell,  was  a  very 
hard  man.  She  referred  to  his  harsh  nature.  Last  even 
ing  I  heard  a  gentleman  read  in  public  from  the  manu 
script  diary  of  the  celebrated  Kirk  Boott,  first  agent 

1  Charles  C.  Chase  (1818-1900)  was  for  many  years  a  teacher 
in  Lowell. 

*  Appendix  M,  page  286. 


of  our  Merrimack  Manufacturing  Co.,  in  which  (in 
1824)  he  says  that  Judge  Livermore  was  afflicted  with 
the  gout,  but  still  kept  on  "  eating  and  drinking  enough 
for  two  men."  From  these  two  remarks  I  judge  that 
Harriet  Livermore  may  not  have  had  a  kind  and  gentle 
father.  (She  lost  her  mother  very  early.)  Home  seems 
never  to  have  had  any  attractions  for  her. 
;  Before  hearing  the  facts  mentioned  above,  I  had 
prepared  an  article  upon  "Harriet  Livermore,''  after 
having  seen  Rev.  Mr.  Livermore's  account  of  her,  in 
which  article  I  had  in  the  mildest  form  suggested  that 
you  in  "  Snow-Bound  "  had  not  done  full  justice  to 
the  better  part  of  her  character.  This  article,  prepared 
for  our  "Old  Resident's  Association,"  I  did  not  read 
till  last  evening,  and  an  abstract  of  my  article  appears 
in  this  morning's  "  Morning  Mail." 

This  newspaper  states,  nearly  in  my  own  words, 
what  I  did  say,  and  I  inclose  a  slip  cut  from  the  paper 
in  this  letter,  as  also  a  few  words  cut  from  another 
paper.  Since  I  prepared  this  article,  I  have  somewhat 
modified  my  judgment  of  Harriet  Livermore,  from 
conversations  which  I  have  had  with  several  persons 
who  knew  her,  or  knew  of  her.  I  am  more  inclined 
to  the  belief  that  you  were  just  and  fair  in  what  you 
said  of  her  in  "  Snow-Bound."  Still  I  read  my  article 
as  written,  for  I  had  used  only  very  mild  words. 

The  Lowell  Chases  are  all  well.  I  heartily  congratu 
late  you  upon  having,  by  the  kindness  of  Heaven, 
completed  eighty  honorable  and  honored  years  of  life. 
I,  too,  am  hastening  on  in  the  swift  race,  not  far  be 
hind  you.  In  a  few  days  I  shall  reach  the  allotted  three 
score  years  and  ten.  Very  truly  yours, 

C.  C.  CHASE. 


From   GEORGE   F.   HOAR 

Washington ,  Jan.  20/88. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WHITTIER: 

I  am  told  that  the  address  of  congratulation,1 
which  was  largely  signed  just  before  your  birthday, 
has  been  delayed  that  some  persons  who  desired,  might 
have  an  opportunity  to  add  their  names,  and  will  now 
be  presented  to  you.  I  wish  it  were  possible  to  let 
you  know  with  what  expressions  of  strong  esteem  and 
affection  these  signatures  were  accompanied.  This  was 
true,  not  only  of  Northern  men  and  Republicans,  but 
of  old  Democrats  and  slave  holders  as  well. 

In  some  cases  the  voice  trembled  with  feeling,  and 
the  eye  moistened.  One  Senator,  a  man  whom  I  sup 
posed  to  be  hard  and  dry  and  absolutely  without  poetic 
emotion,  told  me  that  when  he  left  his  native  State  for 
the  West,  the  only  book  he  owned  for  several  years 
was  Whittier's  poems. 

But  you  are  finding  out  in  ten  thousand  ways  how 
much  your  countrymen  love  and  honor  you.  I  can 
not  begin  to  tell  you  how  much  inspiration  and  strength 
and  stimulant  you  have  been  to  me  from  my  early 
boyhood. 

I  am  faithfully  yours, 

GEO.  F.  HOAR. 

1  At  the  suggestion  of  Gen.  Cogswell,  Representative  from  the 
Essex  County  district,  an  address  of  congratulation  on  the  completion 
of  Whittier's  eightieth  year  was  prepared  in  Washington,  and  signed 
by  Senators,  Representatives,  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  men 
of  note.  The  volume  is  now  in  the  Whittier  home  at  Amesbury. 


From  OLIVER   WENDELL   HOLMES1 

Boston,  April  $th,  1888. 
MY  DEAR  WHITTIER  : 

I  will  not  write  to  you  on  mourning  paper,  for 
you  know  how  little  significance  there  is  to  such  sym 
bols.  I  ought  not  to  mourn  that  my  dear  wife  was 
taken  gently  from  my  side  before  her  mental  change 
had  reached  that  sad  condition  in  which  it  too  often 
ends.  She  was  comely,  sweet  mannered,  sweet  tem 
pered  to  the  last.  My  weaning  from  her  much  loved 
companionship  was  very  gradual,  and  I  have  been 
with  her  night  and  day,  except  during  my  brief  visit 
to  Europe,  for  all  these  years  of  her  growing  mental 
infirmity.  I  enjoyed  forty  five  years  of  as  happy  mar 
ried  life  as  any  mortals  have  a  right  to  expect.  As  I 
look  back  over  that  long  period,  not  a  look  or  a  word 
comes  into  my  memory  which  left  a  sting  or  a  wound 
after  it. 

We  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  an  excellent  and 
devoted  companion  for  her,  a  widow  lady  to  whom 
she  very  soon  became  attached,  and  who  was  all  to  her 
that  a  sister  could  have  been. 

You  will  be  glad,  I  am  sure,  to  know  that  my  daugh 
ter,  Mrs.  Turner  Sargent,  is  coming  to  live  with  me, 
having  let  her  own  beautiful  house  on  the  slope  of 
Beacon  Hill,  overlooking  the  Common,  and  taking 
my  noble  water  view  in  exchange. 

1  A  similar  letter  addressed  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps  Ward, 
ii  in  Morse,  Holmest  ii,  263. 


['5'  ] 

I  shall  do  my  best  to  find  an  interest  in  life,  and  I 
know  that  she  will  help  me  to  pass  the  days  which  will 
often  seem  lonely  in  remembrance  but  are  crowded 
with  recollections  which  will  come  back  to  me  more 
and  more  as  the  present  grows  dim  and  dreamy. 

I  shall  send  you  a  little  book  in  the  course  of  a  week 
or  two  —  but  I  do  beg  you  to  wait  until  we  meet  to 
thank  me  for  it,  for  I  know  what  it  means  to  have  to 
write  a  note  about  a  friend's  book. 

I  often  think  of  you,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  no 
one  can  recall  you  in  memory  without  a  glow  of  love 
and  reverence,  such  as  hardly  another  among  all  your 
fellow  countrymen's  names  would  call  forth.  Believe 
me, 

Always  faithfully  and 

lovingly  yours, 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 


From  ISAAC   R.  PENNYPACKER 

'The  Philadelphia  Inquirer 
929  Chestnut  St. 

Philadelphia^  Oct.  25,  1890. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  thought  it  might  not  be  unpleasant  to  you 
to  receive  the  copy  of  the  "  Inquirer  "  of  today,  which 
I  have  marked  and  send  you,  showing  the  use  made 
of  your  poem  at  a  Republican  mass  meeting  in  the 
Academy  last  night.1  I  suppose  I  am  responsible  in 

1  Philip  C.  Garrett,  in  his  speech  supporting  George  W.  Delama- 
ter  for  Governor,  said  :  "As  for  me,  stronger  reasons  than  any  that 
have  been  alleged  will  be  required  to  draw  me  from  my  allegiance. 
I  do  not  despair  of  the  Republic.  I  do  not  despair  under  the  con 
tinued  leadership  of  the  same  beneficent  party,  of  the  ultimate  con 
quest  of  every  form  of  corruption  and  tyranny  in  our  country.  And 
I  can  say  with  the  venerable  poet  Whittier  in  lines  written  this  very 
summer  : 

'  Our  thought  of  thee  is  glad  with  hope, 

Dear  country  of  our  love  and  prayers  ; 

Thy  way  is  down  no  fatal  slope, 

But  up  to  freer  sun  and  airs. 

'  Thy  lesson  all  the  world  shall  learn, 
The  nations  at  thy  feet  shall  sit, 
Earth's  farthest  mountain  tops  shall  burn, 
With  watch-fires  from  thine  own  uplit. 

'  Great,  without  seeking  to  be  great 
By  fraud  or  conquest ;  rich  in  gold, 
But  richer  in  the  large  estate 
Of  virtue  which  thy  children  hold. 


VX£       YJ1LU.V*       VY  i.llV-1*      Lily      V~liJUHL  Wli     J.1W1U.* 

'With  peace  that  comss  of  purity, 
And  strength  to  simple  justice  due, 


a  measure  for  Mr.  Garrett's  mistake  in  saying  that 
the  poem  was  written  this  Summer.  This  error  and 
the  poem  itself,  and  certain  comments  upon  it,  sent 
you  at  the  time,  were  copied  from  the  "Inquirer" 
into  almost  every  Pennsylvania  newspaper,  shortly 
after  the  Mrs.  Logan  reception. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  very  warm  political  cam 
paign  in  this  State.  The  free  traders  of  New  York 
have  taken  a  hand  in  Pennsylvania  politics,  as  they 
have  never  done  before.  They  have  not  usually  at 
tacked  the  tariffopenly,  but  have  confined  their  efforts 
to  the  most  outrageous  personal  abuse  of  our  candi 
date  for  Governor,  Mr.  Delamater,  and  United  States 
Senator  Quay.  In  the  circulation  of  these  scandals 
they  have  been  assisted  by  the  Democrats  here  and 
by  a  few  persons  who  in  former  years  were  Republi 
cans,  but  who  through  personal  association  with  the 
Clevelands,  or  by  reason  of  some  personal  grievance, 
or  because  they  are  free  traders,  are  now  helping  the 
Democrats.  The  New  York  motive,  of  course,  is  to 
break  down  Senator  Quay,  a  man  of  great  ability  who 
so  successfully  managed  the  National  Republican 
campaign  which  ended  in  the  election  of  President 
Harrison.  The  men  who  know  Senator  Quay  person 
ally  and  well,  say  that  he  is  a  man  whose  word  is  al 
ways  fulfilled,  a  man  of  courage  and  wide  culture  with 
high  ideal  of  personal  conduct  in  his  dealings  with  his 
fellow  men.  He  is  not  a  candidate  at  all,  his  term  not 
expiring  until  1893. 

So  runs  our  loyal  dream  of  thee, 
God  of  our  fathers !  make  it  true. '  ' ' 

Philadelphia  Inquirer ,  Oct.  25,  1890. 

These  lines,  revised,  are  in  "Our  Country,"  Poems,  383. 


I  wish  very  much  that  in  a  general  way,  without 
entering  into  personalities,  you  could  find  it  possible 
to  write  me  something  in  advocacy  of  the  tariff  and 
of  upholding  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party 
which  I  might  print.  Some  of  the  Friends  of  Bucks 
County,  and  perhaps  in  Chester  County,  without  being 
familiar  with  the  details  of  the  campaign,  have,  I  fear, 
had  their  faith  shaken  by  the  wide  circulation  in  the 
New  York  "  World,"  which  has  been  scattered  broad 
cast  throughout  Pennsylvania,  of  the  slanders  against 
Senator  Delamater,  our  candidate  for  Governor,  and 
Senator  Quay.  These  slanders  have  been  emphati 
cally  denied,  but  there  is  danger,  as  was  the  case  with 
Mr.  Elaine  and  General  Garfield,  that  they  may  drive 
away  some  Republican  voters,  and  we  need  every  Re 
publican  vote. 

Such  a  letter  from  you,  as  I  suggest,  would  be  worth 
a  great  many  stump  speeches,  particularly  in  Phila 
delphia,  Bucks  and  Chester  Counties  and  in  the  Muncy 
Valley  where  the  Friends  are  strong.  In  these  coun 
ties,  local  contests  threaten  to  reduce  our  majority.  If 
the  people  can  be  made  to  appreciate  the  importance 
of  the  National  issue  involved  in  our  Gubernatorial 
election,  they  will  give  up  their  local  differences  and 
unitedly  support  the  ticket. 

Yours  very  truly 

ISAAC  R.  PENNYPACKER. 

JOHN  G.   WHITTIER. 

One  of  John  Brown's  sons  took  refuge  in  the  home 
of  Senator  Delamater's  father  after  the  Harpers  Ferry 
outbreak.  The  present  candidate  for  Governor  se 
cretly  supplied  the  refugee  with  food  for  some  weeks. 
He  was  then  a  boy. 


From  EDMUND    CLARENCE  STEDMAN 

137  West  j$tb  Street, 
New  Torky  December  i8/£  1890. 

MY  DEAR,  MY  BELOVED,   MR.   WniTTIER  I 

On  this  afternoon  of  the  day  when  my  mother 
would  have  been  80  years  old,  I  came  home  fatigued 
and  sad,  not  knowing  that  you  had  provided  for  me 
the  keenest  pleasure  I  now  have  experienced  for  many 
a  day,  and  certainly  the  highest  honor  that  has  come 
to  me  at  any  time.  When  Laura,  my  wife,  handed  me 
the  copy  of  "Sundown  "  I  saw  tears  in  her  eyes  and 
a  smile  on  her  face.  I  am  not  ashamed  to  confess  that 
before  I  had  finished  reading  the  exquisite  inscription 
to  E.  C.  S.,  and,  what  with  weakness  and  surprise  and 
gratitude  and  a  rush  of  tender  feelings,  I  was  myself 
crying  like  a  child.1 

Indeed,  I  have  grown  old  without  having  time  to 
realize  it,  or  to  outgrow  the  selfsame  thoughts  with 
respect  to  you  and  your  work  that  I  had,  when  a 
youth  in  New  England.  You  have  put  your  hands 
upon  my  head  and  blessed  me.  No  other  hands,  no 
other  blessing,  can  be  so  dear  to  me,  though  other 
blessings  come  where  one  like  yours  has  fallen. 

No  poet  older  than  myself,  except  Bayard  Taylor, 
has  ever  understood  me  as  you  have —  or  said  to  me 

1  "At  Sundown"  (Cambridge,  1890).  One  of  an  edition  of  fifty 
copies  privately  printed.  Later  editions  contain  minor  changes.  The 
dedication  (Poems,  467)  is  to  E.  C.  S[tedman],  "  Poet  and  friend  of 
poeti.  ..." 


[  256] 

such  words  as  you  have  said  from  time  to  time.  Per 
haps  my  own  lack  of  such  warmth  from  above  has  made 
me  a  little  the  more  thoughtful  of  those  still  younger 
who  care  for  a  word  even  from  me.  I  think  your  vol 
untary  letter,  some  years  ago,  when  I  wrote  the  Con 
cord  poem,  was  worth  more  to  me  than  any  words  I 
ever  heard  before.  But  as  for  this  crowning  grace  — 
I  can  only  send  you  these  broken  expressions  of  an 
over  full  heart.  I  am  sensibly  touched  beyond  words. 
I  made  it  rather  a  point,  dear  Mr.  Whittier,  not  to 
write  you  on  your  birthday.  I  feared  you  would  feel 
moved  to  answer  me,  and  I  knew  you  would  know 
that  your  83d  anniversary  was  remembered  in  my 
house.  Little  did  I  think  how  you  had  borne  me  in 
your  heart  and  mind.  Stay  with  us  yet,  is  the  prayer 
to-night  of 

Your  grateful  and  attached  friend, 

EDMUND  C.  STEDMAN. 


To    MISS   PHEBE   WOODMAN, 
OAK   KNOLL 

[Ames bury,  June  — ,  1892.] 

Second  Day  Morning. 
DEAR  PHEBE: 

I  meant  to  have  gone  to  Oak  Knoll  today, 
but  I  am  suffering  with  a  bad  headache,  and  must  de 
fer  it  until  I  feel  better.  I  think  I  must  have  taken 
cold  in  this  hot  weather  in  some  way,  though  I  tried 
to  be  careful.  I  suppose  thy  mother  and  Aunt  Caro 
line  are  at  Goffstown  or  Manchester,  or  are  about  to 
be  there  (on  business  I  suppose.)  I  am  sorry  you 
could  not  accept  Mrs.  Hollingsworth's  invitation. 
Lizzie  Pickard  writes  that  it  is  very  hot  at  Yearly 
Meeting.  I  am  glad  I  did  not  try  to  go  there  though 
I  was  anxious  to  meet  Dr.  Thos.  Chase  '  there,  to 
have  some  talk  with  him  about  writing  my  biography 
which  he  has  consented  to  do  in  connexion  with  Mf 
Pickard,  who  will  aid  him  in  obtaining  material  and 
facts  etc.  I  wish  for  my  part  that  nothing  of  the  kind 
should  be  written.2 

I  wish  I  was  at  Oak  Knoll  this  hot  day;  it  is  as 
hot  there  as  here,  but  the  sight  of  green  fields  and 
trees  seems  to  make  heat  less  severe.  I  am  sure  the 
garden  is  greatly  improved,  and  the  roses  must  be, 
some  of  them  at  least,  in  bloom.  The  climbing  roses 
under  my  window  are  in  full  blossom  and  the  flowers 
look  in  upon  me.  The  laburnum  is  also  doing  well, 

1  See  Appendix  L,  p.  284.  a  Appendix  N,  p.  289. 


and  the  cut-leaf  birches  at  the  end  of  the  garden  are 
large  and  handsome.  There  is  a  small  patch  of  straw 
berries,  a  rare  kind  from  Gen.  Cogswell's,  which  are 
just  ripening.  The  old  white  rose,  a  slip  from  Aunt 
Jones'  rose  bush  more  than  100  years  old,  is  budded. 
As  soon  as  I  feel  able  to,  I  shall  go  to  Oak  Knoll. 
The  very  hot  weather  keeps  me  in  doors.  To-day  is 
the  hottest  of  all.  Love  [to]  you  all. 

Aff. 

J.  G.  W. 


fo  MISS   CAROLINE   C.   JOHNSON, 
OAK  KNOLL1 

Hampton  Falls,  N.  H. 

Aug.  28,  1892. 
DEAR  CAROLINE: 

I  feared  there  might  be  some  doubt  about  the 
title  of  the  Alaska  Mission,2  and  am  glad  the  money 
raised  is  safe  in  the  Bank.  But  I  hope  now  the  legal 
rights  of  the  Mission  land  ownership  will  be  fully  in 
vestigated  and  definitely  settled.  I  wrote  to  the  cor 
respondent  or  clerk  of  the  New  Wilmington  Yearly 
Meeting,  urging  the  needs  and  claims  of  the  Mission. 
The  Friends  there  are  poor  but  active  and  zealous, 
and  want  to  do  something,  and  they  will  do  all  they 
can. 

The  great  change  in  the  weather  has  been  hard  for 
me,  and  I  have  not  felt  so  well  as  before,  but  there 
are  indications  of  fair  weather  to-day.  The  pilgrims 
and  reporters  have  found  me  out,  and  I  am  still  an 
noyed  by  them.  I  enclose  some  verses  I  wrote  for  Dr. 
Holmes'  Birthday.3  Rather  poor  and  weakish,  but  I 

1  The  last  letter  Whittier  wrote  to  Oak  Knoll.  Three  days  later 
he  was  taken  ill,  and  died  September  7,  1892,  at  Hampton  Falls, 
N.  H. 

*  Whittier' s  cousins,  with  whom  he  made  his  home,  became  inter 
ested  while  travelling  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  in  a  Friends'  Mission  to 
the  Indians  at  Juneau,  Alaska.  On  their  return  Whittier  with  others 
contributed  to  its  support.  Unfortunately  the  building  was  on  land  with 
a  defective  title,  and  serious  loss  ultimately  resulted. 

3  Two  days  before  writing  this  letter,  he  had  sent  Dr.  Holmes  a 


[    260    ] 

wanted  to  remember  him  on  the  occasion.  Tell  Phebe 
I  shall  write  her  soon.  Aff. 

J.  G.  W. 


copy  of  the  verses,  his  birthday  being  August  zQth,  the  last  work  Whit- 
tier  did.    Pickard,  Whit  tier,  763. 

".Climbing  a  path  which  leads  back  never  more 

We  heard  behind  his  footsteps  and  his  cheer  ; 
Now  face  to  face,  we  greet  him  standing  here 

Upon  the  lonely  summit  of  Fourscore.  " 
"  O.  W.  Holmes  on  his  Eightieth  Birthday,"  Poem,  473. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A   (See  page  5) 
WHITTIER'S  "EDITORIAL  CREED,"  1830 

It  seems  probable  that  Whittier  knew,  when  he  was  writ 
ing  to  his  mother,  that  the  publishers  of  the  Review  were  con 
sidering  appointing  him  permanent  editor,  and  that  his  wish 
that  he  might  tell  the  good  news  may  have  imparted  the  eager 
tone  to  his  letter.  The  issue  of  the  Review  for  the  next  week, 
Sept.  20,  1830,  announces  the  appointment,  and  contains 
the  new  editor's  "creed,"  which  is  here  printed  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Haverhill  Public  Library,  in 
whose  possession  there  are  four  numbers  of  the  paper. 

"  To  THE  PATRONS  OF  THE  N.  E.  REVIEW. 

...  I  consented  to  take  charge  of  the  Review  during 
the  absence  of  its  Editor  to  the  West,  for  a  short  time  only, 
and  without  intention  of  taking  upon  myself  the  responsibility 
of  the  paper,  or  of  giving  a  character  to  it,  essentially  different 
from  that  which  it  had  acquired  under  the  management  of 
my  predecessor.  .  .  . 

Circumstances  have  since  placed  me  in  a  different  atti 
tude  in  regard  to  the  Review  and  its  patrons;  —  and,  as  our 
intercourse  may  prove  of  longer  duration  than  I  had  im 
agined,  I  shall  briefly  explain  my  editorial  creed. 

I  am  opposed  to  the  present  Administration.  I  disapprove 
of  most  of  its  important  acts ;  —  it  has  more  than  realized 
the  darkest  anticipations  of  those  who  opposed  it ;  it  has 
broken  the  faith  of  treaties ;  —  it  has  punished  integrity, 
and  rewarded  servility  and  treachery ;  —  it  has  assailed  the 
American  System,  indirectly  indeed,  but  still  with  the  mani 
fest  intention  of  destroying  it ;  —  it  has  scattered  the  seeds 


[264] 

of  political  and  moral  corruption  abroad  among  the  people ; 
—  it  has  given  the  enemies  of  our  free  institutions  an  occa 
sion  of  rejoicing,  and  has  filled  the  heart  of  the  patriot  with 
fearful  forebodings  of  the  future. 

I  need  not  say  that  I  am  the  advocate  of  the  election  of 
HENRY  CLAY  to  the  next  Presidency.  I  espoused  his  cause 
with  a  firm  belief  that  it  was  my  duty  to  do  so.  I  have  seen 
nothing  as  yet  to  induce  a  contrary  opinion.  I  shall  continue 
to  use  my  best  endeavors  to  promote  his  election,  believing, 
in  the  sincerity  of  my  heart,  that  in  so  doing,  I  shall  best  sub 
serve  the  interests  of  the  public. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  aid  the  cause  of  morality  and  rational 
religion.  A  great  moral  revolution  is  going  on  around  us,  the 
voice  of  public  opinion  is  growing  louder  and  louder,  and 
already  the  strongholds  of  Vice  are  shaking  to  its  responses, 
like  the  walls  of  Jericho  to  the  sound  of  the  trumpet.  I  shall 
seek  to  promote  this  glorious  revolution.  I  trust  I  shall  never 
so  far  prostitute  the  intellect  which  God  has  given  me,  as  to 
become  the  apologist  of  immorality  and  irreligion,  whatever 
shape  they  may  assume,  or  under  whatever  name  they  may 
appear. 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER." 

It  is  to  be  noted  that,  as  Whittier  became  of  age  Dec.  17, 
1828,  he  had  yet  to  cast  his  first  vote  for  President  or  a  mem 
ber  of  Congress. 


APPENDIX  B 

THE  GRIMK6  SISTERS  AT  AMESBURY 
(See  page  50) 

When  Whittier  made  this  inquiry  he  was  disturbed,  and 
the  circumstances  reveal  his  sound  judgment,  for  older  heads 
were  losing  sight  of  the  main  issue.  The  Grimke  sisters, 
Sarah  and  Angelina,  at  this  time  were  in  Amesbury.  These 
young  women,  born  in  South  Carolina  of  a  slaveholding  fam 
ily,  had  reasoned  out  for  themselves  that  slavery  was  wrong, 
but,  finding  no  sympathy  at  home,  had  come  North  and  were 
now  speaking  in  public  against  it.  That  women  should  speak 
at  all  in  public,  had  called  from  the  ministers,  assembled  at 
Brookfield,  Mass.,  the  formal  declaration  in  which  were  two 
propositions,  first,  that  slavery  should  not  be  forced  into  the 
churches  as  a  subject  for  debate,  and  second,  that  public  dis 
cussion  by  women  was  dangerous  to  the  female  character. 
This  declaration  prompted  Whittier' s  "  Pastoral  Letter " 
{Poems,  276),  in  which  he  speaks  of 

"the  thrilling  tale 
Of  Carolina's  high-souled  daughters." 

The  sisters  were  arousing  so  much  interest  by  their  charm 
of  manner  and  their  forceful  thought,  that  they  were  literally 
carrying  all  before  them.  "  Such  was  the  overpowering  influ 
ence  with  which  they  swept  the  churches  that  men  did  not 
remember  the  dogma  of  women  keeping  silence,  until  after 
they  were  gone."  Whittier,  appreciating  possible  complica 
tions,  wrote  the  sisters  from  New  York,  I4th  of  8th  Mo. 
1837  (Birney,  The  Grlmke  Sisters,  203),  urging  them  to  con 
fine  their  arguments  to  immediate  emancipation,  because 
"  those  who  subscribe  money  to  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  do 


[  266  ] 

it  in  the  belief  that  it  will  be  spent  in  the  propagation,  not  of 
Quakerism  or  Presbyterianism,  but  of  the  doctrines  of  l  Im 
mediate  Emancipation.'  To  employ  an  agent  who  devotes 
half  his  time  and  talents  to  the  propagation  of  l  no  human  or 
family  government '  doctrines  in  connection  —  intimate  con 
nection  —  with  the  doctrines  of  abolition,  is  a  fraud  upon  the 
patrons  of  the  cause."  Moreover  he  criticized  Garrison, 
saying  that  "  if  he  fills  his  paper  with  Grahamism  and  no  gov- 
ernmentism,he  defrauds  his  subscribers,"  though  he  "knows 
that  brother  Garrison  does  not  look  at  it  in  this  light." 

But  they  had  already  reached  Amesbury,  and  were  guests 
in  the  Whittier  home.  They  had  lectured  twice  the  preced 
ing  week,  and  on  one  evening  they  had  been  interrupted  by 
two  young  men  of  Amesbury,  John  S.  Page  and  Amos  Mor- 
rill,  who  had  been  in  the  South,  one  as  a  doctor,  and  the  other 
as  a  teacher.  These  men  contended  that  the  condition  of  the 
slave  was  no  worse  than  that  of  the  Northern  mill  operative 
or  farm  workman,  and  they  challenged  the  sisters  to  a  public 
debate.  This  occurred  the  next  week,  and  again  two  evenings 
were  devoted  to  the  subject,  July  17  and  19,  1837.  The 
topic  assigned  was  "  Are  the  slave  laws  of  the  United  States 
contrary  to  God's  law  ?  "  The  men  justified  slavery  by  Bible 
texts,  while  the  women  dwelt  on  the  demoralization  resulting 
from  slavery.  At  the  close  of  the  second  day,  Angelina  Grimke 
read  a  letter,  written  by  a  young  woman  named  Churchill, 
signed  "  A  Free  Woman  of  Amesbury,"  indignantly  repel 
ling  the  suggestion  of  slavery  in  the  North. 

In  the  following  letter  1  from  Whittier  to  Theodore  D. 
Weld,  written  over  forty  years  later,  reference  is  made  to  one 
of  the  disputants,  Morrill,  who  had  been  appointed  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Texas  by  the  Brigadier- 
General  commanding  that  State  under  the  Reconstruction 
Act  of  1867,  serving  until  1870.  The  memorial  mentioned 
was  a  volume  written  by  Weld  in  memory  of  the  sisters, 
one  of  whom,  Angelina,  he  married. 

1  In  possession  of  John  Albree. 


[a67] 

Amesbury,  gtb  Mo.,  14,  1880. 
DEAR  THEODORE: 

How  glad  I  am  to  get  a  line  from  thee !  I  had  just 
been  writing  answers  to  letters  from  Robt.  Purvis  and  Enoch 
Mack,  (two  surviving  signers  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Declaration 
of  1833)  when  I  received  thine.  And  I  told  them  of  thee  and 
our  dear  friend  Sewall. 

It  is  possible  that  the  memorial  of  thy  dear  wife  and  her 
sister  was  sent  to  Danvers  in  my  absence,  as  I  spend  part  of 
my  time  there,  and  was  laid  aside  by  my  cousins,  and  lost 
sight  of  in  the  multitude  of  books  and  papers  with  which  the 
house  is  filled.  I  shall  be  at  Danvers  next  week  and  will 
make  a  thorough  search,  and  notify  thee  of  the  result. 

How  well  I  remember  dear  Angelina's  visit  here,  when 
she  first  came  to  New  England,  the  brave,  beautiful,  young 
woman  !  How  we  all  admired  and  loved  her.  Judge  Morrill 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Texas,  is  now  in  this  place,  and 
we  talk  of  her  debate  with  him  in  this  village  more  than  40 
years  ago.  He  says  he  felt  then  that  she  had  the  right  of  the 
argument,  and  that  he  always  remembered  her  with  profound 
respect.  In  the  Rebellion  Judge  M.  was  true  to  the  Union 
and  risked  his  life  for  it. 

God  bless  and  keep  thee,  dear  Theodore !  We  are  near 
the  great  mystery.  We  can  only  trust,  and  wait  —  trust,  not 
in  our  own  goodness,  but  in  that  of  Him,  who  is  the  source 
of  all  goodness  and  love  and  compassion. 

Always  thy  affectionate  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


APPENDIX  C 
SOME  ANTI-SLAVERY  WORKERS   (See  page  55) 

The  association  of  these  three  names  shows  how  closely 
Elizabeth  was  following  her  brother  in  his  work.  Of  Mrs. 
Chapman  Whittier  wrote,  June,  1878:  — 

"  Mrs.  Chapman  was  an  early  and  strenuous  worker  in 
the  anti-slavery  cause,  and  I  give  her  full  credit  for  it.  I  un 
derstand  well  how  she  failed  to  comprehend  and  appreciate 
the  labors  of  [Wm.  Ellery  Channing],  and  of  every  other 
man  who,  while  perilling  all  in  the  service  of  freedom,  could 
bid  Godspeed  to  those  outside  of  party  who  were  yet  doing 
something  in  their  own  way  for  the  cause,  and  could  make 
allowance  for  those  who  failed  to  see  their  duty  clearly  and 
who  hesitated  to  pronounce  our  shibboleth.  I  am  sorry,  for 
her  sake,  that  she  has  kept  her  old  prejudices  and  miscon 
ceptions  alive  to  this  day."  (Pickard,  Whittier,  643.) 

In  1839  Mrs.  Chapman  published  "Right  and  Wrong 
in  Massachusetts,"  in  which  she  relates  the  disagreements 
and  conflicts  among  those  who  were  working  for  the  slave. 
She  is  extravagant,  both  in  praise  and  censure.  She  quotes 
with  approval  a  speech  of  J.  T.  Woodbury  :  — 

"  A  Virginia  Christian  slave  holder  comes  here,  and  ap 
peals  to  us  about  the  Virginia  State  Bible  Society  to  send  the 
Bible  to  the  extreme  ends  of  the  earth.  Why  don't  he  give 
the  Bible  to  his  own  slaves  then,  and  teach  them  to  read  it, 
before  he  asks  for  our  money  to  help  him  send  Bibles  to  the 
slaves  in  sin  in  distant  lands  ?  Why,  his  very  Bibles  he  sends 
to  the  Hindoo,  are  bought  with  the  blood  and  souls  of  his 
slaves.  It  is  dividing  the  gains  of  hell  with  God.  If  this  is 
Christianity,  well  might  the  heathen  say,  God  defend  us  from 
Christianity." 


What  prompted  Elizabeth  Whittier's  inquiry  as  to  Wood- 
bury' s  appointment,  since  this  extract  shows  him  to  have 
been  an  outspoken  and  zealous  advocate  of  the  slave,  was 
that  at  this  moment  Woodbury  and  Garrison  were  at  vari 
ance.  Woodbury's  letter  of  criticism  of  Garrison  and  his 
methods  had  been  printed  in  the  Liberator,  and  Garrison,  by 
way  of  refutation,  had  reprinted  the  speech  of  Woodbury's. 
The  points  of  difference  were  largely  such  as  should  have 
been  settled  quietly  and  definitely  by  the  managers,  instead 
of  being  allowed  to  be  subjects  for  discussion  and  general 
strife.  For  instance,  how  could  it  advance  the  freedom  of 
the  slave,  if  the  name  of  a  Boston  minister  was  printed  for 
several  weeks  as  that  of  a  possible  slaveholder,  because  he 
had  not  read  from  his  pulpit  a  notice  of  an  anti-slavery 
meeting  ? 

Woodbury  was  later  settled  for  many  years  over  a  Con 
gregational  church  at  Milford,  Mass.  There  he  established 
a  lasting  reputation  as  an  aggressive,  determined,  earnest  man 
of  high  character  and  worth.  (Ballou,  Milford,  1134.) 

Abby  Kelly,  later  Mrs.  Foster,  was  a  teacher  in  Lynn, 
and  was  already  showing  herself  to  be  a  woman  of  strong 
individuality.  In  Garrison's  account  of  the  meeting  in  Penn 
sylvania  Hall,  Philadelphia,  just  before  it  was  burned  by  the 
mob,  he  wrote  of  her  as  "  a  noble  young  woman  from  Lynn." 
Her  speech  so  affected  Theodore  D.  Weld  that,  at  the  close 
of  the  meeting,  he  urged  her  to  take  the  field  as  an  anti-slav 
ery  lecturer ;  and  "  laying  his  hand  on  her  shoulder,  he  said 
in  his  vehement  way,  '  Abby,  if  you  don't,  God  will  smite 
you.'  She  obeyed  his  voice,  and  her  own  internal  promptings, 
in  the  spring  of  1839."  (Garrison,  ii,  216.) 


APPENDIX  D 

H.  C.  WRIGHT    (See  page  55) 

In  Henry  Clarke  Wright  (1797-1870),  who  is  mentioned 
rather  slightingly  in  several  letters,  is  illustrated  a  type  of  the 
people  with  whom  Whittier  had  to  do,  when  a  secretary  of 
the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society.  At  the  date  of  this  letter, 
Wright  was  completing  his  labors  in  Essex  County  as  an 
agent  of  the  Society,  having  been  ordered  to  Pennsylvania. 
During  July  he  had  been  in  charge  of  the  movements  of  the 
Grimke  sisters,  arranging  for  and  participating  in  the  meet 
ings,  and  then  reporting  them  at  length  for  the  Liberator. 
Holding  a  license  from  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  he 
had  preached  in  West  Newbury,  1826-33,  and  in  1835  he 
had  joined  the  anti-slavery  movement.  Instead  of  confining 
himself  to  presenting  the  cause  of  abolitionism,  he  would 
declaim  on  his  peculiar  notions  of  family  government  and  the 
promotion  of  universal  peace.  As  he  had  a  surplus  of  energy 
and  a  deficiency  of  tact,  he  was  frequently  a  centre  of  com 
motion.  In  October,  1837,  the  Society  felt  constrained  to  dis 
pense  with  his  further  services  because  he  refused  to  confine 
himself  to  the  anti-slavery  work,  for  which  he  was  paid.  At 
times  in  later  years,  he  was  of  great  help  to  Garrison,  whose 
words  of  approval  are  recorded  in  his  Life. 

From  1818  to  1870  Wright  kept  a  combined  note-book 
and  diary,  seventy-one  volumes  of  which  are  now,  by  gift  of 
Wendell  Phillips,  in  the  Boston  Public  Library.  These  books 
vary  in  size  and  shape.  In  them  he  recorded  at  length  and 
in  detail  his  thoughts  and  his  deeds,  and  though  the  record 
is  necessarily  personal,  it  reveals  something  of  the  life  and 
work  of  the  agents  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  for  whose 
movements  Whittier  was  in  part  responsible.  These  agents 
were  paid  a  salary  of  about  $600  a  year,  but  they  were  ex- 


pected  to  collect  enough  for  their  own  expenses.  This  re 
sulted  frequently  in  their  being  entertained  without  charge 
by  local  friends  of  the  cause,  wherever  they  spoke.  Wright 
recorded  each  day  at  whose  house  he  was  cared  for,  and  also 
the  names  of  the  people  he  met.  The  record  of  one  day 
deserves  extended  mention,  for  a  cause  that  could  call  for 
such  expenditure  of  time  and  strength,  both  by  the  agents 
and  the  supporters,  as  the  day's  story  shows,  had  great  power 
behind  it,  and  the  fact  that  the  result  was  so  long  delayed, 
reveals  also  the  strength  of  that  which  it  opposed. 

The  entry  for  July  19,  1837,  begins  with  three  texts,  one 
each  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  English.  Then  came  the  walk 
to  Amesbury,  to  see  the  Grimkes  at  the  Whittier  home, 
where  Wright  planned  out  the  argument  for  the  evening's 
discussion,  the  heads  of  which  he  gives  in  full.  Leaving  there, 
he  walked  to  Bradford,  six  miles,  where  he  was  entertained 
at  the  house  of  Gardner  B.  Perry.  He  wrote  a  letter  of 
1 100  words  to  Prof.  Crosby  of  Dartmouth  College,  which  he 
copied  verbatim  in  the  diary,  for  those  were  not  the  days  of 
copying  ink  or  carbon  paper.  He  lectured  two  hours  in  the 
evening  u  to  a  goodly  number  "  on  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
and  then  ends  the  record  thus  :  "  Walked  15  miles  today 
and  lectured  two  hours.  Much  exhausted,  but  the  Lord  has 
sustained  me."  The  next  day  he  walked  home,  and  wrote  an 
account  of  the  Grimke  sisters'  labors  for  the  Liberator,  in 
which  it  duly  appeared. 

As  Wright  made  the  arrangements  as  to  places  and  dates 
for  the  Grimkes*  addresses,  the  record  in  his  diary  of  the 
Amesbury  debate  may  have  a  personal  coloring,  but  still  it 
can  be  cited  :  — 

"  On  the  part  of  the  sisters  the  discussion  was  managed 
most  adroitly,  especially  the  last  evening.  I  have  never  met 
with  souls  in  the  form  of  women  like  unto  the  souls  of  Sarah 
and  Angelina.  They  are  truly  intellectual  and  moral  beings, 
subject  only  to  their  God.  They  command  one's  respect  and 
admiration,  not  as  women  only,  but  as  immortals." 


APPENDIX  E 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  WHITTIER'S  ILL  HEALTH 

(See  page  63) 

"  The  nature  of  the  mysterious  malady  [eye-strain]  which 
afflicted  Whittier  was  never  suspected  by  himself,  his  friends, 
or  his  physicians.  It  was  the  same  in  the  cases  of  De  Quin- 
cey,  Carlyle,  Darwin,  Huxley,  Browning,  Spencer,  Park- 
man,  George  Eliot,  Lewes,  Mrs.  Carlyle,  Margaret  Fuller, 
Nietzsche,  and  Wagner.  As  one  gathers  to  a  focus  the  ex 
tracts  concerning  the  ill-health  of  each,  the  truth  bursts  on  the 
view  except  of  those  who  do  not  wish  to  see  it."  (Biographic 
Clinics,  261.) 

"To  one  who  had  not  heard  from  many  patients  the  tale 
of  their  sufferings  exactly  like  that  of  Whittier,  and  who  had 
not  observed  in  them  the  same  results  of  self-scrutiny,  exhaus 
tion,  and  sensitiveness,  the  fact  of  his  daily  concern  and  em 
phasis  of  pain,  might  itself  seem  morbid.  But  the  sympathetic 
oculist  will  make  no  such  mistake.  There  is  no  disease  more 
terrible  in  its  intensity  of  pain,  more  likely  to  crush  out  virility 
and  morale,  than  this  agonizing  affection.  Had  Whittier  not 
been  essentially  of  the  heroic  type,  a  Friend  who  by  ancestry, 
faith,  and  nurture  had  not  been  predestined  to  quiet  valor  and 
endurance,  the  pain  he  suffered  would  not  have  left  him  his 
heart  of  healthy  and  sunny  manliness.  Pity  for  his  sad  lot  by 
those  who  know  what  he  endured,  is  in  reality  height 
ened."  (Ibid.,  265.)  "  All  the  newspapers  that  Whittier  ed 
ited  had  to  be  abandoned  because  the  editor  could  not  carry 
on  his  literary  work.  He  had  to  renounce  the  great  duty  of 
anti-slavery  reform  for  which  his  heart  and  head  had  fitted 
him,  and  his  predestined  role  of  statesman  had  also  to  be 
abandoned,  —  all  due  to  eyestrain.  Retiring  to  the  farm  and 


273  ] 

the  life  of  a  valetudinarian,  even  his  beautiful  poetic  endow 
ment  was  denied  proper  outlet  because  he  could  not  write 
and  study  as  he  should  have  done."  (Ibid.,  355.) 

So  writes  Dr.  George  M.  Gould,  editor  of  American  Medi 
cine,  about  Whittier  in  the  second  of  the  five  volumes,  Biogra 
phic  Clinics ;  Influence  of  Visual  Function  on  Health,  the  sub 
title  of  the  volume  being  "The  Origin  of  the  111  Health  of 
George  Eliot,  George  Henry  Lewes,  Wagner,  Parkman, 
Jane  Welch  Carlyle,  Spencer,  Whittier,  Margaret  Fuller 
Ossoli,  and  Nietzsche."  (Philadelphia;  Blakiston,  1904.) 

The  plan  of  the  writer  is  to  collect  the  references  to  the 
ill  health,  made  either  by  the  subject  or  his  friends,  and  on 
these  to  base  his  diagnosis.  With  such  statements  about 
Whittier  he  fills  eight  pages. 


APPENDIX   F 

WHITTIER  TO  ELIZUR  WRIGHT,  JR. 
(Wright's  Reply,  page  65) 

The  "kind  and  wise  letter  "  of  Whittier's,  dated  at  Ames- 
bury,  25th,  3d  Mo.,  1840,.  is  printed  in  full  in  Pickard, 
Whittier  as  a  Politician  (Goodspeed,  1900),  16.  He  advised 
strongly  against  making  any  nominations  at  this  convention, 
and  outlined  the  course  for  it  to  follow  :  — 

"  One  word  in  regard  to  the  convention  at  Albany.  I  am 
glad  it  has  been  called  ;  it  is  proper  that  the  great  question 
should  be  discussed,  and  that  abolitionists  should  be  exhorted 
to  maintain  their  integrity.  But  credit  me,  for  I  know,  that 
nine  tenths  of  the  voting  abolitionists  (and  all  the  non-voting  of 
course)  will  be  opposed  to  a  nomination  at  this  time.  Besides, 
you  can  find  nobody  to  stand  the  abuse,  misrepresentation 
and  Indian  warfare  which  will  be  waged  against  them.  .  .  . 
It  will  be  folly  to  put  men  in  nomination,  and  then  have  them 
come  out  in  the  papers  and  decline ;  and  any  man  who  is 
worthy  of  such  a  nomination  will  most  assuredly  do  so.  ... 

"  Let  your  convention  settle  the  question  that  it  is  right 
and  proper  to  use  political  action  for  the  overthrow  of  slav 
ery  ;  that  independent  nominations  are  a  legitimate  means  of 
carrying  our  principles  into  the  politics  of  the  country ;  that 
Martin  Van  Buren  and  William  Henry  Harrison  are  un 
worthy  of  the  support  of  abolitionists ;  that  it  is  better  in  this 
case  to  forego  the  privilege  of  voting  on  the  Presidential  ques 
tion  altogether  than  to  sacrifice  the  interests  of  freedom  by 
aiding  in  the  election  of  an  enemy  to  the  cause.  .  .  . 

"  Take  high  ground  as  you  please  on  the  duty  of  exercis 
ing  our  rights  and  privileges  as  citizens,  and  commend  to 
the  serious  consideration  of  abolitionists  the  question  whether 


[275] 

the  time  has  not  arrived  when  duty  to  the  slave  requires  of 
us  to  take  an  unflinching,  uncompromising  stand,  independent 
of  caucus  and  party.  But  do  not  gratify  your  enemies  by  mak 
ing  any  nomination.  //  will  not  be  voted  by  one  half  of  the  men 
who  now  profess  to  be  in  favor  of  it.  Immediately  after  the 
Presidential  election  let  a  convention  be  called  ;  you  will 
then  have  only  the  non-resistant  non-voters  to  oppose  you." 
The  ticket  nominated  at  the  convention,  Birney  and 
Earle,  received  but  7369  votes.  Lack  of  organization,  the 
difficulties  attendant  on  a  third  party,  and  divisions  among 
the  anti-slavery  people  contributed  to  the  result.  James  G. 
Birney,  who  was  in  Europe  when  nominated,  was  a  man  of 
strong,  clear,  calm  mind  whose  personality  would  appeal  to 
the  members  of  the  Liberty  party,  for  through  the  death  of 
his  father  he  had  succeeded  to  a  half  interest  in  an  estate 
consisting  of  money  and  slaves.  He  took  the  slaves  in  his 
portion,  allowing  his  co-heir  $20,000  for  them,  and  then 
freed  them  all. 


APPENDIX  G    (See  page  74) 
JOHN  NEAL 

John  Neal,  whose  peculiar  characteristics  M.  F.  Whittier 
has  aptly  portrayed,  preserved  a  pathetic  letter  from  John 
G.  Whittier,  written  before  he  was  twenty-one,  in  Wander 
ing  Recollections  of  a  Somewhat  Busy  Life  (1869),  337.  In 
writing  of  the  beginning  of  The  Yankee,  a  magazine  published 
by  him  at  Portland,  Neal  says  :  — 

"  While  burning  its  way  into  public  favor  I  had  for  con 
tributors  from  all  parts  of  the  country  such  men  as  Chief 
Justice  Appleton,  whose  first  published  writings  appeared  in 
'The  Yankee,'  John  G.  Whittier  who  began  his  career 
with  me,  I  believe  .  .  .  Edgar  A.  Poe  and  half  a  hundred, 
more  or  less,  of  writers  who  have  since  become  distinguished. 
Poe  sent  his  first  poems  to  '  The  Yankee/  .  .  .  And  as  for 
Whittier,  I  have  just  fished  up  a  letter  of  his,  which  I  had 
entirely  forgotten,  dated  '  loth  Mo.  1828,'  and  showing  on 
what  terms  we  were  forty  years  ago.  A  part  of  it  ran  thus  :  — 

" c  My  dear  Neal,  I  have  just  written  something  for  your 
consideration.  You  dislike,  —  I  believe  you  do  at  least,  — 
the  blank  verse  of  our  modern  poets  and  poetesses.  Never 
theless  I  send  you  a  long  string  of  it.  If  you  dislike  it,  say 
so  privately  and  I  will  quit  poetry,  and  everything  else  of  a 
literary  nature,  for  I  am  sick  at  heart  of  the  business.  .  .  . 
Insult  has  maddened  me.  The  friendless  boy  has  been 
mocked  at ;  and,  years  ago,  he  vowed  to  triumph  over  the 
scorners  of  his  boyish  endeavors.  With  the  unescapable  sense 
of  wrong  burning  like  a  volcano  in  the  recesses  of  his  spirit, 
he  has  striven  to  accomplish  this  vow,  until  his  heart  has 
grown  weary  in  the  struggle  .  .  .' 

"Of  course  I  wrote  a  most  encouraging  letter  in   reply ; 


for  he  persisted  until  he  has  become  one  of  the  glories  of  our 
upper  sky  .  .  ." 

Following  this  incident  further ;  there  is  in  the  Haverhill 
Public  Library  a  letter  from  Whittier  in  which  he  uses  this 
one  of  his  boyhood  as  the  theme  of  a  delightful  expression  of 
sympathy  to  some  one  who  must  remain  unknown,  as  the 
letter  was  acquired  by  the  Library  in  the  auction  room. 
By  permission  of  the  Trustees,  it  is  here  printed  :  — 

Oak  Knoll,  yd  Mo.  18,  1885. 
DEAR  FRIEND, 

Thy  letter,  sent  to  the  Winthrop  House  [Boston], 
has  at  last  reached  me,  and  I  am  sorry  for  the  annoyances  of 
which  it  tells.  When  I  saw  thy  little  epistle  to  the  Ed.  of 

,  i  feared  it  would  be  the  source  of  some  trouble  to  thee. 

Mr. should  not  have  published  it.  It  gave  an  oppor 
tunity  for  mischief  and  misunderstanding.  I  do  not  see  any 
way  to  avoid  this,  but  it  will  be  forgotten  in  a  short  time. 

I  made,  when  I  was  beginning  authorship,  a  somewhat 
similar  mistake.  My  verses  were  not  saleable,  and  I  was  un 
justly,  as  I  thought,  criticized  in  the  papers  ;  and  in  a  rather 
desperate  mood,  while  writing  to  John  Neal,  Editor  of  the 
Portland  Yankee,  I  made  complaints  of  non-recognition,  etc. 
It  was  a  private  letter,  but  it  eventually  got  into  print,  much 
to  my  mortification.  It  is  best,  when  one  feels  as  I  did,  to 
keep  still,  or  put  one's  head  in  the  cupboard  and  speak  there. 

I  do  not  see  what  I  can  do  or  say  which  would  not  have 
the  effect  to  keep  the  matter  alive.  Let  it  die  out  as  it 
already  has  well  nigh  done. 

I  have  been  under  the  doctor's  hand  for  a  long  time,  and 
have  hardly  strength  to  write  absolutely  necessary  letters. 
u  The  Spring  comes  slowly  up  this  way,"  and  I  cannot  get 
much  comfort  from  these  bitter  March  days.  I  hope  thee 
have  recovered  from  thy  cold. 

Don't  worry  any  more  about  that  little  matter.   It  will  all 
blow  over,  and  thee  will  wonder  that  it  ever  troubled  thee. 
Always  thy  friend,  JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


APPENDIX  H 

WHITTIER  TO  SUMNER  (Simmer's  Reply,  page  101) 
From  Letter  Books  of  Charles  Sumner,  Harvard  College  Library. 

Amesbury,  loth  jth  mo.  1848. 
DEAR  FRIEND  : 

The  following  paper  has  been  signed  in  this  place  by 
1 20  of  our  citizens,  Whigs,  Democrats  and  Liberty  men : 

"  Free  Soil  and  Free  Labor, 

The  undersigned  citizens  of  Amesbury  and  Salisbury  being 
in  favor  of  the  extension  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Ordinance  of 
1787  over  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  and  for  union 
of  the  people  of  the  Free  States  of  ail  parties  to  effect  that 
object,  hereby  invite  Chas.  Sumner,  Esq.  of  Boston  to  address 
them  on  the  subject  as  soon  as  his  convenience  will  permit." 
It  is  proper  to  state  that  nearly  all  to  whom  the  paper  was 
shown,  signed  it  without  hesitation  and  there  can  be  no  ques 
tion  but  that  two  thirds  of  our  legal  voters  in  the  two  towns 
would  unite  with  it. 

Will  thee  not  drop  me  a  line  informing  me  when  thou 
canst  come  !  Fix,  if  possible,  an  early  day.  The  cars  run  up 
here  from  Boston  just  in  season  for  an  evening  meeting,  and 
go  out  again  in  the  morning  early  enough  to  take  thee  back 
before  business  hours. 

Very  cordially  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

Come  directly  to  my  place.  I  want  to  talk  with  thee  about 
the  present  posture  of  matters.  J.  G.  W. 


APPENDIX  I 

WHITTIER  TO  SUMNER  (Simmer's  Reply,  page  121) 
From  Letter  Booh  of  Charles  Sumner,  Harvard  College  Library. 

Amesbury,  l$th  lltb  Mo.  1853. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

We  are  defeated,  as  I  expected,  after  Cushing's  Edict 
appeared.  I  knew  that  we  could  not  cope  with  the  money 
of  Boston  and  the  patronage  of  Washington  combined. 

This  must  be  the  end  of  coalition,  except  on  anti-slavery 
grounds.  I  wash  my  hands  of  it  henceforth.  It  becomes  us 
now  to  take  our  stand  on  the  old  platform,  with  inexorable 
firmness.  Let  us  palter  no  more :  let  us  lift  up  the  standard  of 
principle  and  invite  all  who  are  sick  of  the  rule  of  the  slave 
power,  to  join  us,  in  open  and  manly  opposition  to  it.  So  doing, 
I  verily  believe  our  defeat  will  be  our  gain.  I  do  hope  our 
friends  of  the  State  Committee  will  see  the  matter  in  this  light 
and  take  bold  ground.  It  would  be  worse  than  folly,  longer 
to  court  an  unwilling  and  wavering  old  time  democr[acy]. 
Let  it  go  and  reap  the  fruit  of  its  doings.  We  have  something 
worth  contending  for :  let  us  have  faith  in  our  principles  and 
be  willing  to  follow  them  into  a  minority  for  the  present.  We 
have  lost  nothing.  We  are  to-d  [ay]  what  we  were  yesterday. 
Courage,  faith,  perseverance !  —  with  these  all  will  be  well. 

I  was  glad  to  see  thy  bro.  George.   I  liked  him  much. 
His  lecture  was  universally  admired. 
Write  me  soon  and 

believe  cordially  and  ever  thy  friend, 

J.  G.  WHITTIER. 

Wilson  gets  a  noble  vote, — some  1500  or  2000  more  than 
Hale  last  year.  Up  to  the  time  of  Cushing's  letter,  I  had  little 
doubt  of  his  being  Governor. 


APPENDIX  J 

WHITTIER  TO  SUMNER  (Sumner's  Reply,  page  128) 
From  Letter  Books  of  Charles  Sumner,  Harvard  College  Library. 

Amesbury,  nth  Mo.  12,  1856. 
MY  DEAR  SUMNER, 

If  I  have  not  written  thee  often  during  the  last  few 
months,  it  has  been  owing  to  no  lack  of  interest  in  thy  wel 
fare,  or  of  sympathy  in  thy  sufferings  for  the  Good  Old 
Cause.  I  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to  trouble  thee  with  letters, 
of  which  I  feared  thou  hadst  far  too  many  for  thy  comfort. 
I  knew  that  all  I  could  say,  would  be  but  a  feeble  and  inade 
quate  expression  of  the  feeling  which  wells  up  in  my  heart, 
whenever  I  think  of  thee. 

I  can  understand,  dear  S.,  that  mere  bodily  suffering  has 
been  but  a  small  part  of  thy  trial.  I  can  well  understand 
(for  in  some  measure  I  have  long  felt  it)  the  pain  which  an 
earnest  spirit  feels  when  obliged  to  stand  still,  while  the  battle 
for  Human  Freedom  is  in  suspense.  During  the  late  mo 
mentous  campaign  I  have  been  utterly  unable  to  do  anything 
effective  or  commensurate  with  my  interest  in  it.  What  I 
could  do,  I  have  done.  And  for  thyself,  thy  denunciation 
of  the  Crime  against  Kansas  has  burdened  all  the  winds  — 
thy  very  absence  has  spoken  for  thee :  and  the  words  of  cheer 
and  counsel  which  have  been  sent  from  time  to  time  from 
thy  retirement,  have  been  potent  instrumentalities  in  awak 
ening  the  North. 

The  result  of  the  election  has  not  disappointed  me.  It  is 
in  fact,  better  than  I  dared  to  hope.  Every  way  considered, 
is  it  not  better  than  we  had  a  right  to  expect  ?  If  we  can 
hold  what  we  have  gained,  our  victory  is  only  delayed  for 
four  years.  For  me,  so  far  from  repining,  I  bow  in  grateful 


acknowledgment  to  the  Divine  Providence  which  has  given 
me  in  this  canvas,  as  from  the  top  of  Pisgah,  a  glimpse  of 
the  Canaan  of  Freedom. 

My  chief  present  anxiety  is  for  Kansas.  All  looks  dark 
there,  but  God  is  over  all,  and  He  can  turn  and  overturn, 
until  His  right  is  established.  It  is  barely  possible  however, 
that  policy  may  dictate  to  the  managers  of  the  President-elect, 
a  more  decent  course  of  action  as  respects  Kansas,  through 
fear  of  losing  what  little  hold  they  still  retain  on  the  free 
States.  Nothing  will  contribute  more  to  this  than  a  determi 
nation,  manifested  at  once  by  the  friends  of  freedom,  to  hold 
their  own,  and  press  forward  to  new  victories,  by  reorganis 
ing  in  every  section  of  the  free  States  on  the  principle  of  the 
Phild1.  Platform.  We  have  found  that  the  name  of  Fremont 
is  a  spell  of  power,  and  we  must  use  it.  With  it  we  can  keep 
our  many-sided  host  together.  Americans,  Republicans  and 
adopted  citizens  are  united  in  his  favor. 

But  enough  of  such  matters;  I  want  to  say  a  word  to 
thee  as  an  old  friend.  Do  not  leave  home  for  Washington, 
until  thy  health  is  more  fully  established.  Congress  will  do 
nothing  for  the  first  month,  and  the  remaining  two  will  not 
witness  any  important  action,  so  far  as  the  Senate  is  concerned. 
Massachusetts,  God  bless  her!  loves  her  son  too  well  to  re 
quire  him  to  hazard  his  health  by  a  premature  resumption  of 
his  duty.  Patience,  patience;  then  dear  S.  remember  that 
"  They  also  serve  who  wait." 

Do  not  trouble  thyself  to  answer  this,  but  think  of  me  as 
Ever  and  affectionately, 
thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER 

My  Mother  and  sister  wish  to  add  th[eir]  kind  remem 
brance. 

I  am  delighted  with  thy  eulog[y  of]  Wilson.  How  very 
nobly  he  has  borne  himself!  Burlingame's  re-election  rejoices 
us  all. 


APPENDIX  K 

WHITTIER  TO  SUMNER  (Sumner's  Reply,  page  180) 
From  Letter  Books  of  Charles  Sumner,  Harvard  College  Library. 

Amesbury,  6th  mo.  12,  1872. 
MY  DEAR  SUMNER, 

Thanks  for  thy  letter.  I  needed  no  assurance  on  thy 
part  that  thy  speech  was  an  honest  one  and  inspired  by  a 
sense  of  duty.  And  yet  I  am  sorry  for  some  parts  of  it,  as  I 
think  the  effect  would  have  been  better  if  it  had  been  less 
severe.  I  enclose  a  note  to  the  "  Transcript."  I  think  already 
a  reaction  has  here  commenced,  and  many  who  denounced 
the  speech  strongly,  now  feel  that  after  all,  the  charges  it 
makes  have  not  been  disproved.  Indeed,  I  have  not  much 
doubt  that,  if  thy  election  as  Senator  were  pending  in  Mass1." 
at  this  very  time,  there  w?  be  a  majority  in  thy  favor,  for  I 
presume  the  great  body  of  the  Democrats  would  sustain  thee, 
and  the  old  Liberty  party  men  are  not  all  gone  over  by  any 
means. 

Always  affectionately, 
thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER 

MR.  SUMNER'S  SPEECH 

Letter  from  John  G.  WUttier 

Amesbury  6,  $th  Mo,  1872 
To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  TRANSCRIPT  : 

In  the  "  Evening  Transcript,"  which  has  just  come 
to  hand,  I  notice  a  paragraph  professing  to  give  my  views  of 


V 


the  late  speech  of  Senator  Sumner.  My  individual  opinions 
in  the  matter  are  of  small  consequence  to  the  public,  but  if 
presented  at  all,  I  prefer  to  give  them  in  my  own  way.  As 
regards  the  senior  Senator  of  Massachusetts  I  have  no  change 
of  opinion  to  record.  I  have  not  forgotten  his  long  and  bril 
liant  services  in  the  cause  of  freedom  and  the  best  interests 
of  his  country  and  mankind.  I  know  him  well.  I  have  stood 
side  by  side  with  him  for  thirty  years,  and  it  requires  some 
thing  more  than  a  mistake  on  his  part  to  make  me  desert  an 
old  friend.  I  confess  that  I  have  seen  with  some  impatience 
men,  whose  Republicanism  seems  mainly  to  consist  in  their 
readiness  to  grasp  the  spoils  of  a  victory  won  in  a  great  mea 
sure  by  others,  maligning,  insulting  and  displacing  a  man 
whose  integrity,  intellect  and  acquirements  are  a  standing 
reproach  to  themselves.  I  am  no  blind  advocate  of  Senator 
Sumner,  or  any  other  man.  I  expect  to  see  faults  and  frailities, 
and  to  grieve  over  the  mistakes  of  those  I  love  and  respect. 
I  regret  the  late  speech,  as  it  exposes  the  author  to  the  charge 
of  personal  resentment,  and  because  it  seems  to  me  unduly 
severe  in  its  tone  and  temper.  The  Republicans  of  Massa 
chusetts  may,  and  probably  will,  dissent  from  its  conclusions 
through  the  press  and  at  the  ballot  box,  but  they  have  no 
occasion  to  question  his  sincerity,  or  to  charge  him  with  aban 
doning  any  of  the  great  principles  which  he  has  so  nobly  as 
serted,  and  for  which  he  has  suffered  more  than  martyrdom. 

Very  truly  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


APPENDIX  L 
THOMAS  CHASE   (See  pages  237  and  257) 

Thomas  Chase,  born  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  1827,  a  graduate 
of  Harvard,  1848,  became  a  professor  in  Haverford  College, 
1856,  and  its  president  in  1874.  He  resigned  in  1886,  and 
died  but  a  few  weeks  after  Whittier  in  1892,50  that  what 
Whittier  planned  (Whittier's  letter,  page  257),  that  Chase 
should  write  his  biography,  could  not  be  accomplished.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  in  the  subject  of  this  letter,  Chase's  ora 
tion,  "  Whittier  as  a  Poet,"  the  reason  for  Whittier's  wish 
may  be  discerned. 

A  portrait  of  Whittier  was  given  to  the  Friends  School, 
Providence,  by  Charles  F.  Coffin  of  Lynn,  and  Thomas 
Chase  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  oration  at  the  exercises  of 
presentation,  loth  mo.  24th,  1884.  After  defining  the  poet 
as  one  who  sees,  feels  and  gives  voice  to  what  is  deepest, 
best  and  truest  in  nature  and  in  life,  and  furthermore  as 
one  who  pleads  for  and  inspires  to  search  for  the  good  and 
the  true,  Dr.  Chase  quoted  freely  in  illustration  from  Whit 
tier's  verse. 

But  the  conclusion  dealt  with  the  man,  Whittier,  in  words 
that  commended  themselves  especially  to  him  who  was  the 
centre  of  the  thought  that  day :  — 

"  It  is  an  honorable  title  which  will  cling  to  Whittier  in 
distant  generations  —  that  of 'The  Quaker  Poet.'  And  if  I 
am  not  mistaken,  some  of  the  best  characteristics  of  our  bard 
are  derived  from  the  gentle  sect  in  which  he  was  reared,  and 
which  he  so  truly  loves.  The  meditative  mind,  the  calm  in 
trospection,  the  love  of  nature  and  the  love  of  man,  the  na 
tive  refinement,  which  seems  inborn  in  Quaker  blood,  and 
the  moral  indignation  launching  words  that  are  half  battles 


against  the  wrong,  and  fighting  in  the  fierce  but  bloodless 
warfare  of  reform  at  the  same  time  that  it  rings  the  Christian 
bells  of  peace :  all  these,  so  characteristic  of  Whittier,  are 
characteristic  of  the  Friend."  (President  Chase's  Oration,  39.) 

As  to  Dr.  Chase  himself,  the  record  of  those  who  knew 
him  best  is  :  — 

"A  new  era  dawned  upon  Haverford  with  the  advent  of 
Thomas  Chase.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  speak  of  his  high 
scholarship  and  varied  attainments;  the  experiences  of  the 
many  students  who  have  received  his  instruction,  the  testi 
mony  of  many  learned  men,  the  evidence  given  by  his  edition 
of  the  Classics,  and  his  services  upon  the  Committee  on  the 
Revision  of  the  New  Testament,  combine  to  establish  these."  * 

Through  such  a  man  Whittier  felt  that  his  life's  work 
could  find  its  best  interpreter,  for  not  only  were  Chase's  in 
tellectual  attainments  high,  but,  especially  and  above  all,  was 
he  a  Friend  with  whom  Whittier  could  be  "  in  unity." 

1  History  of  Haverford  College,  249  (with  portrait,  576). 


APPENDIX  M 
HARRIET  LIVERMORE   (Seepage  247) 

The  researches  of  S.  T.  Livermore  in  his  "  Harriet  Liver- 
more,  the  Pilgrim  Stranger,"  as  well  as  of  C.  C.  Chase  in 
his  paper,  reprinted  in  the  Lowell  Mail,  Nov.  18,  1887,  an^ 
of  Sidney  Perley  in  the  Essex  Antiquarian,  v,  7  (1901),  give 
the  main  facts  in  the  life  of  this  brilliant,  unfortunate  woman, 
who  through  Whittier's  delineation  has  become  a  permanent 
character  in  literature. 

The  granddaughter  of  a  Chief  Justice  and  U.  S.  Senator, 
Samuel  Livermore,  and  a  daughter  of  Edward  St.  Loe  Liver- 
more  who  from  1807  to  1811  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  Massachusetts,  she  was  born  in  Concord,  N.  H.,  in 
1788.  Early  deprived  by  death  of  a  mother's  guiding  and 
restraining  care,  her  peculiarities  became  emphasized,  though 
she  had  good  educational  advantages,  and  during  her  father's 
service  she  entered  into  Washington  social  life,  where  she  at 
tained  a  position  possible  to  one  naturally  gifted.  A  love  af 
fair,  terminated  through  the  interference  of  the  young  man's 
family  in  1811,  still  further  complicated  an  already  turbulent 
career.  The  young  man  entered  the  U.  S.  naval  service  as  a 
surgeon  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  died  in  1822  at  Pensacola, 
having  never  returned  to  his  home  in  the  Merrimac  Valley. 

Her  energies  were  then  turned  to  the  exposition  of  the 
Bible  and  its  truths,  as  she  in  her  zeal  saw  them.  The  ex 
horting  at  a  schoolhouse  prayer  meeting  and  the  dancing  at  a 
Washington  ball  room,  attributed  to  her  in  the  introduction 
to  "Snow-Bound,"  were  at  different  periods  in  her  life.  The 
charge  of  flippancy,  there  suggested,  is  baseless,  for  she  was 
too  positive  a  character  to  act  from  whims.  Her  failings  were 
rather  due  to  the  conflict  of  purposes. 


[i87] 

In  1827  and  again  in  1832,  she  preached  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  Washington,  President  John  Quincy 
Adams  having  been  present  on  the  first  occasion.  She  had  by 
this  time  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  lecturer,  and  relied  on  the 
income  from  that  source  for  her  support.  On  one  of  her 
tours  Whittier  was  put  to  some  annoyance  in  Philadelphia  in 
securing  for  her  a  hall  and  an  audience,  the  financial  returns 
however  being  meagre. 

The  evidence  collected  by  Samuel  Livermore  shows  that 
she  could  not  have  "  lived  some  time  with  Lady  Hester  Stan 
hope  ...  on  the  slope  of  Mt.  Lebanon,"  so  that  the  story 
of  the  quarrel  over  the  strangely  marked  horses  is  without 
foundation,  and  there  is  grave  doubt  if  they  ever  met  at  all. 
Four  or  five  times  Harriet  Livermore  went  to  Jerusalem, 
ever  pursued  with  the  thought  of  the  Lord's  immediate  re 
turn  at  that  place,  and  as  her  financial  resources  were  always 
scanty,  she  endured  many  privations. 

To  such  a  personality  a  peaceful  and  serene  old  age  could 
never  come.  The  capacity  for  making  and  keeping  friends 
diminished,  and  her  last  years  were  moreover  embittered  by 
poverty,  due,  she  alleged,  to  the  misdeeds  of  others.  She  died 
in  the  County  Hospital  at  Philadelphia  in  1868,  aged  nearly 
eighty. 

She  wrote  and  printed  much,  both  prose  and  verse.  In 
1824  she  published  a  small  volume,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the 
Haverhill  Public  Library,  "  Scriptural  Evidence  in  favour  of 
Female  Testimony  in  meetings  for  Christian  Worship,  in 
Letters  to  a  Friend"  (Portsmouth,  1824).  From  the  title  it 
is  to  be  inferred  that  she  had  been  reminded  of  the  Pauline 
injunction  as  to  the  silence  of  women. 

In  the  Boston  Public  Library  is  another  of  her  books  which 
contains  the  maiden  name  of  Mrs.  Wendell  Phillips  as  the 
owner :  "  A  Testimony  for  the  Times,  by  Harriet  Liver- 
more.  New  York;  published  for  the  authoress.  Piercy  & 
Reed,  1843"  (PP-  249)-  There  is  shown  a  remarkable  famil 
iarity  with  the  Bible  on  the  part  of  the  writer,  but  the  reason- 


[288] 

ing  does  not  carry  conviction,  as  the  style  is  diffuse  and  the 
points  vague.  One  sentence  will  suffice  (p.  191)1  — 

u  The  gauntlet  is  thrown  —  it  is  into  a  stinking  age  — 
catch  it,  infidel,  and  come  to  the  fight.  I  am  very  jealous  for 
the  Lord  God  of  hosts ;  and  declare  war  on  behalf  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Israel,  for  the  right  of  the  house  of  David, 
and  David's  Lord." 

On  the  flyleaf  of  this  book  is  pinned  a  leaflet  containing 
a  piece  of  her  religious  verse  of  four  stanzas,  which  affords  a 
clue  to  her  method  of  thought,  the  blind  following  of  the  ex 
act  letter  of  the  Bible :  — 

« « Give  to  the  trump  a  certain  sound, 
«  What  of  the  lowering  night  ? ' 

The  literal  Scriptures  be  your  bound 

And  preach  with  all  your  might." 


APPENDIX  N    (See  page  257) 
WHITTIER  TO  

This  letter,  now  in  possession  of  the  editor,  came  on  the 
market  recently.  It  has  not  been  practicable  to  learn  its  his 
tory,  or  to  identify  the  person  addressed :  — 

Amesbury,  30,  7  Mo^  1867. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

For  pity's  sake,  don't  victimize  me  by  a  detail  of 
small  gossip  about  me.  My  public  life  is  public  property  — 
but  I  shrink  with  perfect  horror  from  personal  and  private 
histories.  I  hope  thy  lecture  will  be  free  from  such.  Privately 
I  am  nothing  that  concerns  the  public  ;  and  I  think  any  at 
tempt  to  enter  into  private  and  personal  matters  would  infal 
libly  disgust  an  audience.  I  know  that  a  Mr. of 

did  something  of  the  kind  last  year,  and  everybody  who  felt 
any  interest  in  me  was  indignant  at  his  course  and  want  of 
discretion.1  I  am  sure  thy  good  sense  will  tell  thee  to  avoid 
such  a  mistake. 

My  brother,  I  know,  will  look  at  the  matter  in  the  same 
light. 

Do  thee  recollect  what  Dr.  Johnson  said  to  Boswell :  "  Sir, 
I  am  told  you  are  writing  my  life ;  if  I  thought  so,  I  would 
anticipate  you  by  taking  your  own  !  "  I  shall  not  be  so  bad  as 
the  Doctor ;  but  I  don't  want  my  life  written  by  anybody. 

Hoping  that  the  lecture  may  be  successful  and  profitable, 
I  am  very  truly  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

I  do  not  want  to  meddle  with  the  matter  any  farther.  I 
shall  trust  to  thy  discretion  and  delicacy. 

1  [On  the  margin]   " 's  lecture  was  well  meant  and  highly  eulogistic  ;  but 

it's  personalities  spoilt  it." 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Alaska  Mission,  259. 
Allen,  Col.  Julian,  156. 
Allinson,  Samuel,  60. 
Amesbury  Friends  and  Neighbors,  191. 
"  Among  the  Hills,"  178. 
Andrew,  Governor  John  A.,  141. 
Anti-Slavery  petitions,  20,  38,  42,  54. 
"Atlantic  Monthly,"  26,  130, 131, 135, 
143,  223. 

Bailey,  Dr.  Gamaliel,  99,  112,  133. 

"Barefoot  Boy,"  123. 

Birney,  James  G.,  65,  275. 

Boutwell,  Governor  George  S.,  1 1 5,  1 1 7. 

Brook  Farm,  94. 

Bryant,  William  Cullen,  202,  217. 

Buffalo  Convention,  102,  106. 

Burleigh,  C.  C.,  46,  67,  88,  89,  194. 

"Changeling,  The,"  154. 

Channing,  William  £.,  7,44. 

Chapman,  Mrs.  Maria  L.,  54,  268. 

Chase,  Charles  C.,  247. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  92,  102.  136. 

Chase,  Thomas,  237,  257,  284. 

Chauncy,  Charles,  185. 

Chauncy,  Epitaph  of  Mary,  1 84. 

Child,  Lydia  Maria,  146,  207,  209. 

Choate,  Rufus,  72,  77. 

Claflin,  Governor  William,  234. 

Clay,  Cassias  M.,    156. 

Clay,  Henry,  5,  55,  91,  264. 

Coffin,  Joshua,  54. 

Compensation  for  slaves,  138. 

Corwin,  Tom,  97. 

Gushing,  Caleb,  38,  72,  76,  81,  121. 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  94. 

De  Loyo,  F.,  52. 

"  Demon  of  the  Study,  The,"  238. 

District  of  Columbia,  Slavery  in,  19, 38,41. 

Dix,  Dorothea  L.,  152. 

Edwards,  Amelia  B.,  239. 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  130,  188,  189, 

214. 
Everett,  Governor  Edward,  53,  76. 


"  Fable  for  Critics,  A,"  15. 
Felton,  Cornelius  Con  way,  123. 
Fields,  James  T.,  185. 
Five  Points  of  Calvinism,  9. 
Fletcher,  Richard,  76. 
Forten,  Charlotte,  149,  151. 
Fremont,  J.  G.,  148,  167. 
Frietchie,    Barbara,    152  ;    Poem,   167, 
239- 

Garrett,  Philip  C.,  252. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  5,  19,  26,40, 

105,  181,  237. 

"Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  To,"  6. 
Goodell,  William,  79. 
Gould,  Dr.  George  M.,  273. 
"  Grantism,"  1 80. 
Greeley,  Horace,  1 20,  1 8 1. 
Green,  Beriah,  79. 
Grimke,  Angelina,  207,  266. 
Grimke  Sisters,  27,  50,  265,  271. 

Hale,  John  P.,  96,  98,  109. 

Harris,  Dr.,  Speech  of,  19,  56. 

Hartford,  Conn.,  4. 

Haverhill  Public  Library,  263,  277. 

Hayne,  Paul  H.,  Poems,  199,  221,  222. 

Healey,  Joseph,  58,  64,  196. 

Higginson,    Thomas   Wentworth,    105, 

150. 

Hill,  Edwin  P.,  119. 
"Hive  at  Gettysburg,  The,"  171. 
Hoar,  Senator  George  F.,  249. 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  154,  171,  214, 

228,  232,  241,  250. 
"How  Mary  Grew,"  67. 
"  How  the  Women  went  from  Dover," 

232. 

In  School  Days,"  238. 

Johnson,  Miss  Caroline  C.,  4,  221,  257. 
"Justice  and  Expediency,"  25. 

Kansas,  Crime  against,  1 80,  280. 
Kelly,  Abby,  55,  269. 
King,  Thomas  Starr,  142. 


[  294  ] 


Leavitt,  Joshua,  79. 
Le  Moyne,  Dr.  F.  J.,  47,  48. 
Liberty  party,  23,  79,  97,  99. 
Livermore,  Harriet,  247,  286. 
Longfellow,    Henry    Wadsworth,     130, 

190,  202,  2145  funeral  of,  228. 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  15,  21,  26,  84, 

130,  131,  245. 

Marlboro  House,  Boston,  169. 
Morrill,  Amos,  266. 

Nason,  Elias,  22. 

Nayler,  James,  55. 

Neal,  John,  74,  82,  276. 

"  New  England  Review,"  263. 

New  York,  Description  of,  50. 

Nurse,  Rebecca,  Epitaph  of,  17. 

Oak  Knoll,  3,  220,  242,  257. 
"'  Old  South,'  In  the,"  16. 
"Our  Country,'*  252. 

Page,  John  S.,  266. 

Parker,  Theodore,  96. 

Parris,  Rev.  Samuel,  230. 

"  Pennsylvania  Hall,"  199. 

Pennypacker,  Isaac  R.,  252. 

Phillips,  Stephen  C.,  38,  41. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  149,  159,  209. 

Pickard,  Samuel  T.,  257. 

Pierce,  Edward  L.,  190. 

Pocasset  tragedy,  210,  226. 

"Preacher,  The,"  12. 

Prentice,  George  D.,  5,  34. 

Puritanism  and  Quakerism  contrasted,  10. 

"  Quaker  Alumni,  The,"  14. 

Quaker  Coat,  7,  8,  14. 

Quakerism  and  Puritanism  contrasted,  10. 

Quakerism,  Decline  of,  14. 

Quay,  Senator  M.  S.,  253. 

Reinhart,  E.  W.,  34. 

"  Response,"  199. 

Rice,  Rev.  Charles  B.,  230. 

"  Sabbath  Scene,  A,"  17. 
Salem  Convention,  91. 
Sewall,  Samuel  E.,  76. 
Seward,  William  H.,  140. 
"  Sheridan's  Ride,"  166. 
Smith,  Gerrit,  87. 
"Snow-Bound,"  248. 


Sprague,  Peleg,  76. 

Stanton,  Henry  B.,  53,  67,  79,  86,  91, 

102,  109. 

Star  Island  singers,  163. 

Stedman,  Edmund  C.,  216,  255. 

Stewart,  Alvan,  79,  87. 

Stone,  Mn.  Lucy,  159. 

Stuart,  Charles,  52. 

Sturge,  Joseph,  19,  20,  69,  71,  128. 

Sumner,  Charles,  Letter  Books  of,  22  ; 
friendship  with  Whittier,  24 ;  com 
ments  on  Whittier's  poems,  1 1 1  ;  sends 
works  to  Whittier,  115;  elected  Sena 
tor,  1175  assault  on,  126;  resolution 
on  flags,  187  ;  will  of,  190. 

"Sundown,"  255. 

Swinburne,  Algernon,   189. 

Tappan,  Lewis,  104,  1 08. 
Thaxter,  Celia,  161,  183. 
Thayer,  A.  W.,  7,  33,  73,  77,  81. 
Thompson,  George,  36. 
Ticknor,  Frank  O.,  223. 
Timrod,  Henry,  175. 
Torrey,  Rev.  Charles  T.,  60. 
"  Tritemius  of  Herbipolis,"  144. 

Washington,  George,  76,  88. 

Webster,  Daniel,  97. 

"  Websterized  Whiggry,"  117. 

Weld,  Theodore  D.,  64,  209,  266, 
269. 

"  What  the  Traveller  said  at  Sunset," 
232. 

Whipple,E.  P.,  130,224. 

Whitman,  Walt,  241. 

Whittier,  Abigail  Hussey,  33. 

Whittier,  Elizabeth  H.,  34,  56,  63,  139, 
150,  268. 

Whittier,  John  Greenleaf,  receives  letter 
from  Garrison,  5  ;  prints  "Justice  and 
Expediency,"  6  ;  becomes  associate  edi 
tor  of  the  "  National  Era,'*  21  ;  sug 
gests  Sumner  as  Senator,  22  ;  friend 
ship  with  Sumner,  24  ;  recognized  as 
man  of  letters,  26  ;  Quaker  principles, 
27  ;  aversion  to  publicity,  28,  289  ; 
criticism  on  Channing's  "Slavery," 
44  j  visits  Harrisburg  and  Lancaster, 
Pa. ,  46  ;  writes  Henry  Clay,  5  3  ;  first 
edition  of  poems,  5  8  j  acts  as  grooms 
man,  60  j  makes  a  journey  into  the 
mountains,  64  ;  considers  trip  to  Eng 
land,  68  $  writes  Gov.  Everett,  76  ;  as 


a  lobbyist,  86  ;  his  story  about  Bur- 
leigh,  89  ;  asks  Lowell  for  a  song,  91  ; 
urges  courage  in  political  action,  97  ;  on 
Lewis  Tappan,  108  ;  first  general  col 
lection  of  poems,  Hi;  declines  nomina 
tion  for  State  Senator,  113  ;  '  *  Slavery 
in  Massachusetts,"  116;  discusses  co 
alition,  117,  279  j  as  a  Reform  poet, 
119  ;  on  the  assault  on  Sumner,  126  ; 
invited  to  contribute  to  "  Atlantic," 
131  j  on  Dr.  Bailey,  133  5  on  S.  P. 
Chase,  136  ;  on  Mrs.  L.  M.  Child, 
146  j  enjoys  Mrs.  Thaxter's  letters, 
161  j  on  the  standard  of  Quakerism, 
173  ;  on  Paul  H.  Hayne,  175  ;  on 
Grant  and  Greeley,  181  ;  is  asked  to 
write  Sumner' s  biography,  190  ;  seven 
tieth  birthday,  191,  194,  199  ;  advice 
to  a  young  writer,  206  ;  tribute  to 
Garrison  referred  to,  209  ;  on  Pocasset 
tragedy,  210;  visits  birthplace,  212; 
on  fame  and  notoriety,  214;  on  Sted- 
man's  poetry,  217  j  Hayne's  poem  on 
his  home  life,  22 1  ;  on  E.  P.  Whipple, 
224;  on  the  Claflins,  234  ;  on  Holmes's 
birthday,  241  ;  on  Walt  Whitman, 


243  j  congratulations  on  eightieth 
birthday,  249  ;  prints  *'  Sundown," 
255  ;  plans  biography,  257  ;  "  Edito 
rial  Creed,"  263 ;  letter  to  Theodore  D. 
Weld,  267  ;  "  Origin  of  111  Health," 
272  j  an  early  letter,  276  ;  on  John 
Neal,  277  ;  invites  Sumner  to  Ames- 
bury,  278  j  on  coalition,  279  ;  on  con 
ditions  in  Kansas,  280  ;  on  Sumner's 
speech  against  Grant,  282 ;  Prose 
Works  quoted,  6,  60,  108,  136, 
173,  x8i. 

Whittier,  Matthew  Franklin,  19,  34,  56, 
74,  82,  88,  289. 

"  Whittier  as  a  Politician,"  474. 

Winthrop,  Robert  C.,  117. 

"  Witchcraft  in  Salem  Village,"  1 8. 

Woodbury,  J   T.,  55,  268. 

Woodman,  Mrs.  Abby  Johnson,  4,  121. 

Woodman,  Phoebe,  221,  257. 

Worcester  Convention,  24,  97. 

World's  Anti-Slavery  Convention,  Lon 
don,  67. 

"Wreck  of  Rivermouth,  The,"  154. 

Wright,  Elizur,  Jr.,  65,  274. 

Wright,  H.  C.,  55,  56,  82,  270. 


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